


Ash B&W

by Festivewillow69



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Video Game World, Canon - Video Game, F/M, Role-Playing Game
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-05
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-17 00:35:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 67,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29216556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Festivewillow69/pseuds/Festivewillow69
Summary: What if Ash started in Unova instead of Kanto. A non-related standalone part 2 after Ash Platinum. Read that if you hadn't.
Kudos: 6





	1. The First Day

It's March 21st of 2011, the Spring Solstice. A woman was walking to someone's house carrying a present. The sun is shining high in the sky, since it was a few minutes before noon. The air smelled fresh as Spring finally came after a good winter. The smell of freshly blooming pink/white roses wafted through the air of the peaceful place of Nuvema Town along with the salty scent of the nearby ocean, constantly filling the place with the sound of soothing waves. And in Nuvema Town is the birthday of a 16 year old boy called Ash Ketchum. Ash was playing on his Wii playing Super Mario Galaxy 2 when his mom knocked on the door leading into his room.

"You may come in." Ash said. His mother, Delia Ketchum, entered carrying a blue box with green ribbon holding it together. On her right shoulder was her pet Minccino, the Chinchilla Pokémon. She helps with keeping the house clean.

"Hello sweetie. Professor Juniper just arrived. She wanted me to hand you this." Looking to his right, he saw the present and became excited.

"Oh wow, it's my very own Pokémon! Thanks mom!" He sat up and hugged her, and she laughed as the woman returned it.

"You're welcome. I'll let your friends know it arrived." She headed back down the stairs as Ash placed the gift on his desk, and waited patiently on his bed. The first to arrive was one of his two best friends, Cheren Griffith.

"Hello Ash." He greeted in his typical cool and composed manner.

"Hey Cheren." The birthday boy responded back.

"So that's it huh? They're finally here?" The black haired teen asked as he gazed upon the present, adjusting his under rimmed glasses. "Hmm. I wonder where Bianca is?"

"She'll be here any second." And right on cue, the downstairs door opened and they could hear the girl with her loud, excited voice.

"Hello Mrs. Ketchum! Thanks for telling me! I'll just head right on up!" They could hear her running, and just as she entered the room, she tripped on the last stair, falling straight onto her face against the wooden floor. She cried out in pain.

"Bianca! Are you okay?" Ash inquired with worry, rushing to her.

"It hurts. But...I'm okay. Thank you Ash." She hugged him gratefully, and he returned it with a smile. Helping her up, Ash led her into his room and the blonde gasped. "Is that the Pokémon?!"

"Bianca, I've known for 10 years that you have no sense of time, but...seriously?"

"Hey don't blame me! It's my dad's fault!" She complained. Ash didn't hold it against her. In fact, he almost never does. Ever since she's been diagnosed with autism, her dad has been really overprotective for her, resulting in Bianca Schroeder being a bit of an airhead when it comes to certain things. Good thing her mother is more willing to let her have the freedom to have hobbies, play with her friends, and have a love for Pokémon. In fact, aside from her mom and Ash himself, she had more of an affinity towards Pokémon than people, but she did still like Cheren, Ash's mom and Professor Juniper when she was in town. "Anyway, let's finally get our Pokémon. Since it's Ash's birthday, he get first pick." She decided.

"Naturally." The cool boy agreed, readjusting his glasses. "Open the box if you'd please." Nodding to his request, Ash unraveled the green ribbon and took the lid off to see three Pokeballs and a note. Reading it, he said,

"Happy birthday, Ash! I've brought three Pokémon. One for you and one for each of your friends. Please settle your choices politely. On the left is the Grass Snake Pokémon, Snivy. In the middle is the Fire Pig Pokémon, Tepig. On the right is the Sea Otter Pokémon, Oshawott. Enjoy your Pokémon! Professor Juniper." Well then. I'm going for the coolest type of the three, fire! I choose Tepig!" Ash chose, taking the middle ball.

"Great! I call dibs on Snivy!" Bianca cheered.

"No fair calling dibs!" Cheren complained. "Oh never mind. I wanted Oshawott from the start anyway. Water is more my style like a calm pond."

"Yeah! Now we all have a Pokémon! That's that! Hey I know, let's have a Pokémon battle!"

"Bianca...honestly." Cheren pinched his nose in annoyance. "Even though they're weak, you still shouldn't have battles in a house."

"Oh don't be so bothered. They're weak, like you said. We have to let them battle so they'll get stronger. It's settled Ash! We're having a Pokémon battle!"

"I'm so sorry Ash, please forgive me!" Bianca cried, on her knees and hands begging for forgiveness. Turns out Cheren was right since the room was an outright mess. The bed and rug were pushed around, his desk lost both legs on one side so it was laying partially down. Books were knocked out of the shelf, the potted plant was knocked over letting the dirt soil the floor, the trash bin was emptied out spilling crumpled paper and plastic wrappers and his tv was pushed back into the wall, though thankfully not broken. Even the walls had hoof prints on them! Miraculously, the Wii system was the only thing undamaged throughout all of that.

"I warned you." Cheren told her so. "Sometimes, you're just so hopeless." He sighed.

"Cheron, she said she's sorry. Lay off." Ash defended his friend before crouching down to her eye level. "Bianca, it's okay. Aside from the desk, it's not like the room has been completely totaled. We just got carried away is all." He hugged her so that she could try to calm down. Cheren scoffed at this while rolling his eyes. To him, Ash always seemed to baby Bianca whenever she was sad, regardless if she needed it or not. Sure, if something wasn't in her control then he was sympathetic and helped her too. But more times than not, if something is her fault, then it's her responsibility to fix the mess she made.

"Fine. How about I heal your Pokémon, and then you and I battle outside so that we don't destroy anything else. I'd hate to be the one to damage your Wii."

"Sure. Thanks." Ash agreed. Once Bianca was all well and good, the three headed downstairs. Delia...her face seemed unreadable, having heard their battle.

"Perhaps you'd like to say something, Bianca?" Cheren asked the blonde.

"Oh...uh...yes. I humbly apologize for demolishing your son's bedroom. Please forgive me. I'll clean it all up." She bowed her head, accidently letting her hat fall to the floor. The girl twirled her hands around, trying to shake some of her distress out. Delia then let a smile grace her face.

"It's okay Bianca. Today is a special occasion. So you won't have to clean up his room right now."

"Oh thank goodness. Thank you so much Mrs. Ketchum."

"Wait, what do you mean by 'right now'?" Cheren asked suspiciously. Delia and Minccino grinned at each other and she answered,

"You don't have to do it right now, but the next time you three come back home, you will have to clean it then."

"Seriously?!" All three gasped.

"You did do a Pokémon battle in the house, and Cheren allowed it to happen even though he didn't participate. So it's your responsibility to clean it up. Just on a later day."

"Aw man." Ash and Bianca groaned at the same time.

"But moving on, shouldn't you three be on your way to meet Professor Juniper?"

"Oh yes. Please excuse us ma'am. Thank you for letting us come over." The black haired boy said quickly as he pushed Ash and Bianca out of the house. "Whew. We're lucky our punishment is being postponed."

"Yeah. Sorry Ash." The sad blonde said again, but he shook his head.

"I said it's okay. How about we just forget about it and have Cheren and I battle?"

"Fine by me. You'll be my opponent, for our first Pokémon battle. I'll heal your Pokémon first then we'll get started." Once Tepig was healed, Asha and Cheren were at a respectable battle distance. The rival picked out his Pokeball. "Let's see what you can do Oshawott!" He shouted as he unleashed his water starter. He had a cyan colored body and a white head with black ears. A shell was hanging on his chest. He stared confidently at the orange and black pig with the long black ears and coiled tail with a sphere at the end.

"Tepig, use tackle!"

"Dodge and use tackle as well!" The fire type tried hitting the water starter, but he sidestepped away and rammed his head into Tepig's side, dealing damage. Since the two were nearly exact in moves and skill, it was basically just two Pokémon bashing their heads into each other. Something that helped Oshawott was that he was slightly faster, so he could dodge slightly better and attack faster. With one final tackle from the Sea Otter, Tepig was knocked out, defeated. "So, that's a Pokémon battle. And I won my first one ever. This feeling...finally. I'm a Pokémon Trainer." He looked really happy, his eyes and mouth smiling in a sense he achieved something great.

"Tepig, return. Thanks buddy. Can't win them all but you did your best." Ash said to his Pokémon. Congratulations Cheren." He held his hand out to his childhood friend, whom returned it.

"That was great Cheren! I have to go home first, but you can go on ahead. I'll be with you two soon." Bianca assured before running off, though tripping up when she nearly ran into a flock of pidove in her way.

"Well, let's go thank the professor. Taking a moment first to heal their Pokémon, the two boys went the lab, and upon entering, found the female professor, whom turned to them with a grin on her face.

"Hello boys. Where's Bianca?" She asked.

"She went home for some reason. She told us not to wait up. We came here to say thank you for the Pokémon, Bianca included." Cheren explained.

"You're very welcome. Now that you're all Pokémon trainers, you're now on a journey you shouldn't take lightly. Today is a day to remember always. Tell me, how are your Pokémon doing?"

"They're doing good. Ash beat Bianca but I beat Ash."

"Awesome! That must mean your Pokémon trusts you already!" The professor cheered before composing herself. "Yes then. As you know, I am researching when and how the creatures called Pokémon came into existence. The reason that I gave you each a Pokémon is because-"

"Sorry I'm late!" Bianca yelled as she entered the laboratory. The girl was twirling her hands and shaking her blonde head as she walked to her friends. "Ugh! You would not believe my dad. He didn't want me to go! But I'm a trainer now, and I'm listening to my mom!"

"Every child needs to go on a Pokémon journey if they wish to be a trainer." Juniper agreed. "I would advice though is that if you're late you try to do so professionally and formally."

"Sorry. Please, what were you saying?"

"I was saying that the reason that I gave you each a Pokémon because it's for the Pokedex." The woman finished.

"Pokedex?" Bianca asked, confused.

"Yes. As much as you've all studied Pokémon, especially you Cheren, you just don't have the time or space to write it all down in multiple notebooks, do you? But the Pokedex is a high tech device that automatically records the Pokémon you capture. So I want the three of you to go out and visit many places to meet them all in the Unova region! There is approximately 145 Pokémon out there. My request to you all is this! Ash, Cheren, Bianca, will you go out and complete the Pokedex?!"

"Of course. Thank you very much." Cheren accepted.

"Ok! Oh, I mean...yes, Professor." Bianca agreed awkwardly. "I think that's the kind of thing my autism could help me excel at."

"Sure. It'd be helpful to know what I'm catching." Ash shrugged.

"All of you, thank you! You have given me the best possible answer!" Each of them were handed a Pokedex from Juniper. "I'm assuming you all know how to meet and catch Pokémon?"

"Yes. We watched how to videos together."

"Great! Then go out on your adventure, younglings! Go!" She cheered, prompting them all to get out of the lab.

"Our first adventure!" Bianca exclaimed. "I can explore and maybe find out what I want to do in life. My heart is pounding." The girl rubbed her hands together in excitement.

"Of course." Cheren agreed. "We can travel however we like while completing the Pokedex." But before they could get started, Ash's mom walked up to them.

"So, what did the professor say?"

"We've been assigned to complete the Pokedex, mom. Here." Ash handed her the device.

"I can't believe it! Well, I mean I can, I knew this was going to happen but, that's not the thing. Both of your moms and I got each of you these!" She handed each of them a map and a Xtransceiver!

"Wow, thanks! What does the watch do?" Bianca asked with amazement.

"Think of them as digital phones. Now you can have far distance conversations with four people at once, provided that the signal is clear.

"We'll take good care of them. Thank you." Cheren expressed gratefully.

"Yes, thank you so much!" The blonde girl cheered all giddy.

"Thanks mom." Ash said with a smile.

"With your Pokémon by your side, you'll be safe wherever you go. I hope you get to see everything the region has to offer. Have a great trip." Giving her son a hug, she went back to the house.

"With these, we'll never be lost and be able to contact each other whenever. These are certainly helpful. So, shall we get going to Route 1?"

"Let's go, let's go!" Bianca shouted. They each took a hand and went down the road, leaving their hometown and coming across a sign that showed the perimeter limit of the town and the route. "Wait a minute!" The blonde girl shouted, stopping the boys.

"What is it?" Ash asked.

"If we're going to start this right, then take our first step at the same time! Jump over the line!"

"I guess I don't mind." Cheren shrugged.

"Okay." Ash agreed. Once they were just before the metaphorical line, Bianca counted.

"One...two...three!" All three of the teenagers jumped and landed at the same time on Route 1, the first time as trainers together. "Isn't this exciting?! I'm a Pokémon trainer!" The female trainer ran with unrestrained joy as she ran and frolicked through the roses, just letting the sheer fact their adventure truly began sink in. The two boys laughed as they chased after her, certain that this was going to be a great day.

After spending a whole day and night trying to see who can catch the most Pokémon, they tied at three since the only Pokémon on the route where Patrat and Lillipup. But regardless, they still had a fun day as they battled against each other once they had the same four Pokémon. The first night they slept together in their pajamas, and woke up with sore backs from not sleeping on a bed for the first time in years since the last out door slumber party. As their journey continued, they each received a ringing from their watches. They each responded to see who it was. It was Professor Juniper!

"Hello! How is everyone doing?" She asked them all happily. "You and your Pokémon are getting along great now, right?"

"Professor?! Oh yeah, we're doing great! We each caught a lillipup and a patrat!" Bianca answered.

"Great to hear! Why don't you come meet me in the Pokémon Center in Accumula Town? I'd like to show you around so you'll know where to look for in any town and city."

"Alright, sounds good. We'll be there soon." Cheren stated before the call hung up. "We've got a plan."

"Yeah. Let's get rolling." Ash said with a nod. It took a few hours but they eventually found the Professor at said center.

"Welcome younglings! Traveling is truly one of the joys of being a trainer. Let me show you the inside." Following the Professor, the teenagers observed the inside of their first Pokémon Center. "Now to the right of any center is the mart. You can get anything you need proportional to the amount of badges you have. And down the isle is the nurse who takes care of your Pokémon. And one of the best perks is it's free!"

"Oh sweet, free Pokémon health care!" Bianca marveled.

"Now if only that extended to humans as well." Ash chuckled at his friends' sarcastic quip.

"Would you like to give it a try?" The nurse asked politely. They each handed her their Pokémon.

"Now Cheren, can you explain what happens when you reach over the '6 Pokémon' limit?" Juniper asked the raven haired boy.

"They get transported to wherever you designate them to go. In this case Nuvema Town." He answered while adjusting his glasses.

"Correct. You can transfer them with any Pokémon if you want to switch a Pokémon with a new one and vice versa. Truly amazing, isn't it? Even though over 20 years has passed since Bill created the PC it's still so marvelous to me." Their conversation was interrupted when horns blared out from the outside. Bianca yelped and covered her ears as she crouched down, feeling under attack from the invading noise.

"Sounds like something is happening." Ash commented. Turning to his friend, he spoke to her as best he could. "Bianca, we're going to investigate. Just stay here and wait for us." She nodded her head rather violently. The two boys and the professor went outside and saw a group of knights in a neat row. In the middle was an old man wearing a robe that was on one side purple with beige accents looking like an eye, and the other but the colors looked inverted. Around his shoulders looked like a truly cumbersome crown thing Ash didn't know how better to describe it, and the center had a emblem of a shield with a neon blue P and a z going through it. His right eye was covered by a red lens.

"My name is Ghetsis." He spoke,(A/N: His voice in the anime reminds me of Emperor Palpatine.) "I am here representing Team Plasma. Today, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to talk about Pokémon liberation. I'm sure most of you believe that we humans and Pokémon are partners that have come to live together because we want and need each other. However... Is that really the truth? Have you ever considered that perhaps we humans... only assume that this is the truth? Pokémon are subject to the selfish commands of Trainers... They get pushed around when they are our "partners", our "friends" at work... Can anyone say with confidence that there is no truth in what I'm saying?" The crowd started to mumble about this speech. "Now, ladies and gentlemen, Pokémon are different from humans. They are living beings that contain unknown potential. They are living beings from whom we humans have much to learn. Tell me, what is our responsibility toward these wonderful beings called Pokémon?" As they talked, one of them said liberation in a questioning tone, and Ghetsis jumped at it. "That's right! We must liberate the Pokémon! Then, and only then, will humans and Pokémon truly be equals. Everyone, I end my words here today by imploring you to consider the relationship between people and Pokémon... and the correct way to proceed. We sincerely appreciate your attention." As they were packing up and preparing to leave, Ash sarcastically clapped his hands, having an unconvinced grin.

"Well, that is certainly a different point of view, I'll admit. Sure, we have the capacity of mistreating them, pushing them too hard and other stuff. But you forgot one thing. What about people who own them just as pets? No battling or coordinating. Just have a pet cat or mouse? My mom owns a minccino, and she's not our property because of a pokeball or leash, but rather she wants to be with us, ever since we saved her from being eaten by a predator a couple years back. It was her choice even, not ours. So while you miiiiiight have an argument about trainers and coordinators if you're more strict, but you have no grounds on pet owners who keeps Pokémon just for the accompaniment. Now what do you say to that?" The trainer challenged. All the Team Plasma members were silent, having no answer to this aspect that he presented. That is until Ghetsis scoffed.

"You think that's enough to sway our beliefs? I'll admit, there are simple pet owners, but they are a vast minority to those who enter tournaments and contests. Given how you're clothed, you must be a trainer yourself. So tell me, whoever you are, how many pet owners will you encounter, compared to the swarms of your fellow battlers? 1 out of 10? 20? You're just a child, so you have no grounds to critique my beliefs. This discussion is over." And with that, all the knights surrounded Ghetsis and left, leaving the stumped crowd and Ash, his smile gone after his counter argument was rejected.

"I have to say, you really showed him Ash. Even though it didn't stick." Cheren complimented as he slapped his hand over Ash's right shoulder.

"Yes, I agree." Juniper added. "Liberation of Pokémon is impossible. We have spent thousands of years growing bonds and friendships with them. It's something we can't just forsake because of a few bad eggs."

"Ash, was it?" A teenage boy in very simple clothes and pale green hair approached them. He appeared to be calm and tranquil with his soft eyes and gentle smile. "You make a very compelling counter argument. My name is N.

"My name is-"

"I care not for either of your names. I'm only concerned with Ash." N cut him off, the same smile never leaving his face. Cheren grumbled as he readjusted his glasses. "Ash, what's your goal?"

"To become the Pokémon champion, and complete the Pokedex.

"So your goal is to be the best and confine many, many in Pokeballs for that then. I'm a trainer too, but I can't help wondering...are Pokémon really happy that way? Let me hear their voice."

"Well, if you mean you want a battle, then by all means. Professor Juniper, can you please get our Pokémon and bring Bianca out too?"

"Sure." She obliged, and only took a moment before she came out with the blonde girl and they all got their Pokémon back. Once the two boys were at a fair distance away, the battle commenced. N silently sent out a purrlion, a purple and cream colored cat, while Ash unleashed his Tepig. With simply a glare, purrlion pounced with its claws out, and scratched the fire pig. Ash was caught off guard, but he refocused.

"Counter with Ember!" From his nose, Tepig fired embers at the purple cat, whom cried out in pain as it got in its eyes. She combusted into flames due to the fire type attack. While his eyes looked worried, N still stayed silent as his mouth frowned, like he was telling purrlion what to do by thought alone. Again the Devious Pokémon scratched against Tepig, but the damage wasn't as bad as last time. "Tackle!" With a short charge, he bashed his head into the cat, and it grunted in pain and cried out when the burn acted up again. It tried to stand, but N said,

"Enough." He returned the purrlion so it no longer suffered. "I never expected your Pokémon to say such things."

"What are you, some kind of Pokémon whisperer?" Ash inquired, interested about his ability to battle without speaking.

"If you wish to see me as such, so be it. As long as Pokémon are confined inside Pokeballs, Pokémon will never become perfect beings. I have to change the world, because they're my friends."

"Dude, you own a purrlion. Don't be so hypocritical." Ash remarked.

"No. Unlike you, they're not bound to me forever. I only need them for as long as I am in the area." And without saying anything else, he left.

"Tepig, return." Ash said when Bianca came at him with a hug.

"That was great Ash! The Professor told me what you said to that man and I'm like, "There's no way I could live without Pokémon! They make me so happy and help me calm down!"

"Hehe, yeah. Team Plasma has no idea what they're saying. We didn't start on this journey just to stop at the first town by a couple of strange guys." The trainer chuckled, before the thought came into mind, and he broke the hug to bring out Tepig. "Tepig, are we friends? Do you enjoy battling with me?"

"Tepig!" He squealed, nodding his head. Ash grinned.

"Glad to hear it."

"Well, with that out of the way, let's head to Stration City to get our first badges." Cheren suggested, pushing his glasses up.

"Yeah!" Both Bianca and Ash agreed.


	2. Striaton City

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hey, just to let you know readers, since the main trio all have the same Pokémon at first and mostly the same moves, I'm going to not go too detailed into their battles between themselves for now. I'm going to wait until they have more diversity. Probably by the time they reach and go through the desert section of Unova. I am looking forward to the battles with Elesa and N at that point, where it gets really interesting. Also, I'm not going to treat Cilan like he is in the anime. I'm not a cook or a natural poet so forgive me if he doesn't describe things like a cooking connoisseur poet would.

The trio then left Accumula Town, resuming their adventure together, beating trainers along the way. Cheren managed to catch a purrloin. By the time they reach Stration City, they've fought each other once again with their respective Pokémon and their starters. Aside from the Pokémon they each had, they discovered that Snivy was rather timid, usually looking nervous and easily frightened. But did she lack any courage? No, she fought the best she could against the brave Tepig, even if she did lose by the end. The trainers speculate this is why she lost the last time too: that Tepig was willing to go all out while Snivy was constantly cornered and tried to attack while running away. The upside is that she managed to learn Vine Whip and gave him a good lashing before he burnt her into defeat with Ember. But like before, Tepig was washed out by Oshawatt, thanks to his superior typing and slightly faster speed. Cheren having a purrloin in his team also helped. Bianca and Ash didn't mind losing too much since it was just for fun. By the time they reached Striaton City, they enjoyed the sights of the apartments, towering three stories high and the amount of people walking about. After getting their Pokémon healed up, they asked the nurse.

"Excuse me Nurse, but where's the gym?" Bianca asked politely.

"They're right next door."

"Thank you." The blonde said before they went to the fancy building, looking like a 4 star restaurant, but a sign said it was closed. "What?! Why would they be closed?!" She complained. She started twirling her hands and shook her head.

"Out to lunch." Cheren answered as he read a note from the gym leaders. "Won't be back for the next couple of hours. Although, we don't know how long they've been gone, so they may be back shortly."

"If you're waiting for the gym leaders, then you could go to the dream yard." A woman suggested. They turned towards her whom looked like she worked at a grocery store, holding some supplies to restock. "Trainers go there to train. It's to the East."

"Thank for the tip! We'll go there right now!" Ash exclaimed with a smile as the trio followed him running. When they got to the dream yard, it appeared to be a factory that was long ago abandoned and looked foreboding, and yet the sounds of Pokémon battling were evident. "Let's split up and train."

"Fine by me." Cheren shrugged while pushing up his glasses and walked off.

"See you in a short while." Bianca stated before walking her own way. With a smile, Ash looked for some challenges. After battling a boy and girl in the past half hour, he heard some grunts and a Pokémon cry out. Turning his attention, he crept through the bushes to see two Team Plasma knights beating up a munna, a spherical pink Pokémon with four tiny legs and a snout. Her red eyes had tears in them as they kicked into its flower marked body.

"We found you! Cough up that dream mist!" The guy kicked into it some more.

"Hey, who do you think you are?! Ash called them out. "You don't treat Pokémon like that!"

"We are Team Plasma, you meddling teenager. We battle night and day to liberate Pokémon from foolish humans!"

"Then aren't you the fools to be wearing something that went out of style like... a thousand years ago?" Ash retorted.

"How dare you mock us?!" The woman of the knights cried out in outrage. "Knights are seen as honorable, as they follow a code of conduct! And our code is making sure humans no longer abuse Pokémon as slave fighters!"

"There's no honor in kicking a Pokémon!" Ash argued, getting angry.

"The means may be nasty, but we need the dream mist to make people want to give up their Pokémon without even having to fight them, and munna and musharna are the only ones that make it. That's the more honorable way. The ends justify the means." The woman explained before she kicked the psychic type Pokémon. "Now give us our dream mist!"

"Stop it! Your organization are a bunch of hypocrites! I'm assuming your trainers too?!"

"True, but we fight for a different cause." The man answered. "We fight for the liberation of Pokémon. So we win battles and take their Pokémon by force! Speaking of which, why don't we liberate your Pokémon as well?!"

"Bring it on! Tepig, Lillipup, I choose you!"

"Patrat, go!/Purrloin, go!" Each of the grunts yelled as they unleased their Pokémon. A fire pig, a light brown canine with cream fur, a chipmunk rodent with red and yellow eyes and a purple cat. This is bound to be interesting.

"Purrloin, use Scratch on the pig!" The cat pounced with its claws extended and slashed against his forehead, hurting the fire starter.

"Counter with Ember!" Ash retaliated. Puffing out fire balls from his snout, Tepig blasted the Devious Pokémon away, howling in pain.

"Use Bite on the lillipup, Patrat!" The Scout Pokémon ran to the enemy and bit into the Puppy Pokémon, making him yelp.

"Tackle!" Despite his teeth sinking into his body, Lillipup shook Patrat off and pushed him back with a head-butt.

"Again!" The knights commanded, and they tried to make for a double team up against Ash's Pokémon, but he knew better.

"Tackle!" Both of his allies charged and managed to overpower both of them, defeating both at once.

"Ahh, our beautiful dream!" The guy cried out.

"This is a nightmare!" The woman added.

"I can't believe we lost! But...even though we lost...we won't go empty handed!" Taking out a grappling claw, he fired the claw at the only other pokeball Ash had...his own Patrat!

"Wha-?! Hey!" He shouted, trying to prevent them from stealing it but it went of his reach quickly and before the teenager could do anything else, the woman threw down a smoke bomb, disappearing when it cleared. "No! Give him back!" Ash screamed as he tried following them, even though he didn't know where they left. By the time he searched all over, they were long gone. "No." Ash mumbled as he fell to his knees before lying down on the ground in a fetal position. "I'm sorry Patrat. Forgive me. I couldn't protect you." His Tepig and Lillipup looked down as they too were depressed their friend was kidnapped.

"Ash? Ash!" Bianca called out as she ran to him. "What's wrong Ash?!"

"P-Plasma. Th-they took m-my Patrat." He cried, hugging himself tighter.

"Oh no. I'm so sorry Ash." Bianca pulled him up so that she could hug him as support. He hugged her back, burying his face into her neck as she took in all his sadness, letting him know she was there for him. His shoulder to cry on. Once Ash calmed down enough, she looked into his face.

"Ash, listen to me. We'll find him, no matter what it takes. Even if we have to fight every last one of the Team Plasma meanies, we will get him back." She tried to reassure him.

"You think so?" He asked, sniffling some snot escaping his nose.

"There's always hope." She replied, a smile gracing her face. He returned said smile as he stood up with her.

"Thank you. You're a real good friend, Bianca." She blushed at the compliment and looked away while grinning, twirling her hands.

"Hehe, thanks. And you're welcome as well. Why don't we head to the Pokémon Center?"

"Sure." Ash nodded. After returning his Pokémon, they held hands as they walked back to the entrance of the site, where Cheren was waiting.

"Ash, what happened?" He asked, noticing his close friend was not at his typical happiness.

"I stopped Team Plasma from beating up a munna as they called it, but then they stole my Patrat!"

"They did?" He gasped. His glasses glinted dangerously as he adjusted them. "They will not get away with this."

"I'm sorry, but did I hear that your Pokémon were stolen?" Their attention was attracted to a girl that approached them.

"Yeah. A couple of thugs robbed me." Ash replied in a sorrow tone.

"I'm sorry to hear that. Please, why don't I give you a helpful gift? It's the least I can do." She fished in her bag and dug out three pokeballs. "I just caught them, but I can always just catch more. Pressing the button, she released them showing to be the three elemental monkeys. Pansage the Grass Monkey, Pansear the High Temp Monkey, and Panpour the Spray Monkey.

"Wow, thank you so much!" Bianca cheered.

"Guys..." The female trainer talked to them. "I caught you just yesterday, but I think they need you more than I do. The one in the middle was just robbed so I thought a bit of charity seemed appropriate. Are you okay with this?" They all nodded in response, making her smile. "Thanks you guys."

"I call dibs on Pansear." Cheren swiftly said, tapping a pokeball against the fire type's head, thus absorbing it.

"Hey, no fair!" Bianca complained, but the bespectacled boy grinned at her.

"That's for calling dibs on Snivy yesterday." Bianca pouted while folding her arms.

"Fine. Ash, which one do you want?" The blonde asked him, wanting to be considerate.

"I think I'd like Pansage." Ash stated. The grass monkey chittered as he climbed up his leg and onto his shoulder.

"Alright, then I'll take Panpour." She accepted as she scooped up the chill looking monkey. Although it looked apprehensive, likely sharing the same nature as Snivy, it nonetheless toughened up and snuggled with the girl, making her giggle.

"I'm glad you each got a new companion. Take care of them."

"We will, and thank you." Ash said while tipping his hat. When she left, they heard another noise and turned to it. It was a musharna, the evolved form of munna that shape wise was the same, but larger and had a purple body to go with the pink head. Pink vapor escaped from its head as it floated, and next to it was a bruised but okay munna.

"Musha." The mother thanked.

"Munna mun!" The child cheered.

"You're welcome." Ash nodded as the trio left. Once they had their Pokémon healed at the Pokémon Center, they headed to the gym which was being lit up from the western sunset. Entering the gym/restaurant, they went up to the hostess.

"Hello. Are you here with a reservation?"

"We're trainers who came to battle."

"Oh, trainers." After pressing a button, she said, "Follow me please." Being escorted to the back past the eating only area, she asked them, "So, what are your names and where did you come from?"

"I'm Ash, and these are my friends Bianca and Cheren. We come from Nuvema Town."

"How lovely." She responded with a smile. Once they were in the battling part of the gym, the hostess bowed and left the room where the middle of said room had up to three rock filled battle fields at once, much to their shock. On a platform in the back, a voice came through the speakers. Three lights illuminated the stage in green, red and blue.

"Greetings, trainers! If it's a gym battle you want, we'll grant your request!"

"So you're a challenger? Then you'll receive a welcome as pleasant and hot as the noon day sun!

"Unless you want it cool, like a refreshing glass of water filled with ice of course.

"Prepare yourself for..." Three plumes of colored smoke burst before they cleared revealing three butlers, respectively with hair styles resembling intense fire, trimmed grass and blue water. "...The Striaton City gym leader triplets!"

"Three gym leaders at once?" Cheren gasped.

"Be bedazzled, for it is now showtime!" With running leaps, they front flipped through the air and landed on their respective fields.

"I'm Chili! I light things up with fire type Pokémon! Better have a glass of milk and a gallon of ice cream parfait, for my moves are more intense than the spiciest of curries!"

"And my name is Cilan! I use the tastefully natural power of grass types! If you want a battle that's as natural as nature, than I'm your guy!"

"I'm a water type specialist, and my name is Cress. I wash away all those that take a sip of my supreme and refreshing battle style." Together, they shouted,

"So pick your gym leader!" The 'customers' were stumped by this performance.

"Oh uh...wow. I'm...not really sure who to pick." Ash admitted, stumbling over his own words."

"M-me too." Ooooh, too many choices." Bianca shook her head while twirling her hands.

"I must say, I'm at a predicament of choice as well." Cheren sighed as he readjusted his glasses.

"In the event that the customer is unable to choose..." Cilan spoke. "...then must draw drinking straws." A butler came over holding in his hand three white drinking straws. Shrugging, the trio each grabbed a straw and pulled. Bianca got Chili, Ash got Cress and Cheren got Cilan. "Then it is decided! Go to your designated gym leader!" Getting excited, all the teens went to the field they've been assigned to. Three waitresses went to each field.

"For this battle, it's three matchups at once! Ash, Bianca and Cheren the challengers are facing against Cress, Chili and Cilan the gym leaders respectively! This will be a 2 on 2 battle, and when all the Pokémon on one side are unable to battle, the match is over! Only the challenger is allowed to substitute! May the battles begin!"  
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A/N: This feels like a good stopping point. I don't feel like doing all three of these at once or sequentially, so this is a choice for you. Leave a review on what you want you think of the chapter and which of the matchups you want to read next chapter. Bianca vs Chili, Ash vs Cress, or Cheren vs Cilan? vote now.


	3. The Power of Friendship

"Let the battle begin!"

"Come on out Snivy!" Bianca shouted, spinning her arm like a windmill until she threw the pokeball, releasing her starter, a green, yellow and cream colored reptilian slender body. Her arms and legs are tiny in proportion to her body while the end of her tail ended in a large, palpate leaf ending with three prongs, the middle being the longest. The grass snake quivered since she was facing another challenger, her large eyes filled with fear.

"Go, Lillipup!" Chili yelled, throwing out the Puppy Pokémon.

"Snivy, use Growth!" The female trainer instructed. Shaking her head, the grass starter tried to use the lights overhead to increase the capability of her body, her tail glowing bright green as a result.

"Stop it with Bite!" Chili ordered, and the normal type charged and sunk his teeth into Snivy's body, making her yell out in pain.

"Get him off with Vine Whip!" Two vines sprouted from her collar and swatted at the canine, making him yelp and back off.

"Use Tackle!" The gym leader tried to retaliate.

"Dodge then Vine Whip!" Thanks to her superior speed, Snivy was able to evade the incoming canine and use one vine to swat it again while also using the other to wrap around its body. "Do it!" Bianca shouted, and the Grass Snake Pokémon whipped her enemy around, smashing him into the rocks around them until he was thrown away towards Chili, having fainted from that battle. "Yay! You did great Snivy!" The blonde cheered, hopping up and down. Gaining some confidence, Snivy smiled and displayed at least some of the coolness that's inherent in all snivy.

"Lillipup, return." The fiery leader said. "You did your best. Good job. Now that was a hot display of skill, but let me show you something that will really ignite the flavor of this battle! Pansear, light it up!" Out came the High Temp Pokémon, a red monkey with a tuft of hair on his head in the shape of a flame.

"Snivy, return! Come on out, Panpour!" She called out, but by accident, sent out her fresh Munna instead. "Oh shoot! I sent out the wrong Pokémon! Can I start over?"

"Sorry, but when a Pokémon is sent out, that's what you battle with." The referee declined, making the girl grip her hat and shake her head, groaning all the while.

"Looks like it's my turn to get all fired up! Pansear, use Work Up!" The fire monkey started beating against his chest, howling as red energy surrounded his body.

"Munna, use Yawn!" Bianca pleaded. The Dream Eater Pokémon opened her mouth to give a big yawn while purple bubbles floated out and popped in the monkey's face.

"No! Use Incinerate, quick!" Pansear breathed out a ball of fire that made contact with the floating pink creature, crying out in agony when it came within contact and exploding.

"No, don't give up, Munna!" The female trainer begged.

"Again!" Chili tried to finish the battle, and the monkey obliged by breathing another plume.

"Counter with Psybeam!" Despite the pain, Munna was able to shoot a multi-colored beam of energy that stalemated the fire attack, keeping her safe. Pansear then yawned himself before falling asleep and onto his back.

"No! Pansear, wake up!"

"Now's our chance! Use Psybeam again!" Obeying her master's orders, the psychic Pokémon was able to shoot the same beam at her foe, making him grunt in pain." Again!" Bianca repeated. This went on for two more turns until it became obvious he wasn't going to wake up.

"Pansear is unable to battle! The winner is Munna, and the victor is Bianca!"

"Yes! My first gym badge!" Bianca cheered at the top of her lungs and ran to hug her Munna, whom said her name with glee.

"Pansear, return. Your spirit burned as hot as peppers, so I'm proud of you." Within moments, the victories challengers stood in line in front of the gym leaders. "Wow, you were on fire!"

"Indeed. What a surprise to see that you are very stron and skilled." Cilan commented with a smile.

"You are all quite remarkable." Cress stated. "As per the Pokémon League rules, we hereby present you the trio badge." They each took the badge, looking like a bowtie with green, red and blue from left to right filling the center of each gilded frame.

"Thanks. Take care now." Ash said as he began to leave.

"Bye bye!" Bianca yelled as she waved goodbye.

"Thank you for such an enriching experience." Cheren complimented while readjusting his tie, and left with his friends.

"We won guys! We really won!" The blond girl celebrated.

"Dare I say it, this was a rather tasteful battle." Cheren chuckled at his joke while pushing his glasses up.

"Cheren making a joke? You really are in a good mood, are you?" Ash jabbed as the three laughed until they were stopped by the gym leaders.

"Wait!" All three called out, stopping the trainers.

"You may not have known..." Cilan started.

"...But those that beat us in a heated battle..."

"...Get a free dinner with cool and refreshing drinks and desserts. You've earned it." Cress concluded their synchronized speech.

"I'll right! I'm gonna get me a hamburger and cola!" Ash exclaimed.

"Snivy and I could enjoy a nice salad too!" Bianca added. Cheren said nothing as he shrugged with a smile. Needless to say, it was the best dinner that they've had in their entire lives. By the next morning at 8 AM, they set out again. By the time that it was getting close to noon, the three friends were enjoying the scenery: miles of land that have been mowed in striped square lines, trees looking extra vibrant and green as their third day on the adventure kicked off, beating some trainers and catching some Pokemon on the way. While everyone caught a Pidove, Ash in particular caught a blitzle, an electric type zebra with a lightning bolt shaped mane. They were talking about directions when the laughter of children interrupted them. Looking ahead, five kids of three boys and two girls in elementary school uniforms were riding tricycles, enjoying their recess. They all smiled to see such a display of child innocence like they experienced, until they saw two women chasing after the kids with worried looks.

"Quick! Stop those kids! They're not supposed to be on those!" The younger woman called out. Realizing this was a break out, the three teenagers took hands and spread themselves wide, forming a barricade.

"Quick, turn right!" The boy in the middle tried to command, but when they did, their wheels lost traction upon riding onto wet grass and mud, immobilizing them. Catching up to them, the younger care taker went to scold the children while the older woman spoke to the trio.

"I'm sorry for inconveniencing you three. Their our kindergarten class."

"So how were they able to escape as far as they did?" Cheren inquired while readjusting his glasses.

"As they were heading out for recess, the kids came upon tricycles they didn't own. By the time we caught two of them, the other five were way ahead of us."

"When we get back, you all are going for a time out for riding off away from here." The younger woman told the kids, in which they all groaned. But things became even more bad when cries came from the school. "The kids!" Everyone ran and from where they started, a Team Plasma knight ran off.

"Team Plasma!" Ash shouted, now more determined than ever as he ran faster.

"Ash, wait up!" Bianca called out, but he didn't hear her voice as he chased the knight all the way into a cave. Once inside he yelled into the darkness,

"Hey, what's the big idea taking Pokémon from kindergartners?! Not even children are off your list?!" The knight stepped out of the shadows.

"Children can grow up to be bullies. They have the capability of taking their anger out on their Pokémon, starving them, abandoning them. Trust me; these Pokémon are better off liberated. In fact, yours could use some liberating too! Hand them over!"

"Fat chance! Tepig, I choose you!"

"Patrat, go!"

"Use Flame Charge!" Tepig's body became enveloped in flames and he charged, ramming his ignited body into the Scout Pokémon's body. It cried out from the massive amount of damage.

"No! Use Bite!"

"Counter with another Flame Charge!" Even before the normal type could get close, the fire pig again engulfed himself in flame and slammed himself into the poor weaker Pokémon, fainting from impact.

"Whoa whoa, come on now! I lost to a teenager?!" He cried out in shock. "How could I lose when I'm right?!"

"Because he was strong." A woman's voice answered. From behind him, three more knights showed themselves. "After all, he did defeat those two other knights in the dream yard all by himself."

"You know him? I want my Patrat back!" Ash yelled in fury.

"Even if we wanted to, it's not on us at the moment, so your demand is pointless. You just don't understand, do you? You're at folly to just follow one of us when we're always in pairs and groups. 3 to 1? Not even you can win against those odds." The female knight sneered.

"Wanna test that theory?" Ash challenged, but a friend's voice called through the cave.

"Ash!" From behind, Bianca and Cheren joined him to his right and left respectively.

"How bothersome. You don't just run off like that from your friends." The bespectacled teen reprimanded Ash as he readjusted his tie. "We've known each other our whole lives, so we have each other's backs all the way."

"Yeah, we're best friends together forever!" The blonde girl affirmed with a smile.

"Thanks guys. Let's show them!"

"Enough of this power of friendship baloney. We'll teach you our righteous power! Lillipup, go!" She let loose her canine Pokémon, along with the others releasing another Patrat and a Purrloin.

"Come on out Snivy!"

"Let's go Oshawott!" Tepig was joined by his fellow starters, and his grin became evident by how much bravery was shown on his face.

"Let's beat them together!" The trio shouted at once, and the starters charged. Snivy began to spin around while diving onto her nose, a frenzy of leaves surrounding her whole body.

"That's Leaf Tornado!" Bianca gasped. While her flashy move distracted the incoming enemy, even dealing some damage from right to left, Oshawott removed his shell from his chest, producing an aquatic aura blade along it, and threw it in the opposite direction as Snivy, slashing across the enemy forces before they could recover.

"Razor Shell." Cheren grinned in pride as he pushed his glasses up. Oshawott caught the shell when it came back to him. To finish it off, Tepig charged as fast as he could with a third Flame Charge, bashing all of the three Pokémon at once with a strong squeal. Team Plasma's team was defeated by a land slide.

"Impossible!" The woman cried out. "How could we lose so badly to you lot?!" But that wasn't just it, all three of the starters started to evolve. Snivy's body became larger as her neck collar sprouted leaves in the shape of a V, a small crest formed on the top of her head and produced more leaves across her longer back. Tepig stood up as his legs became thicker, essentially turning from a pig into a bipedal oval with strong arms and sturdy feet. Oshawott's plump body slimmed out as he grew thighs covered in dark blue fur and two scallops, losing the one one his chest, along with his white head adopting a light blue hue like his upper body. Standing in their place were Servine, Pignite and Dewott, each yelling their names.

"They evolved!" The heroic trio exclaimed.

"Gah, no way we can defend against them! Here, take these Pokémon back! Retreat!" All the knights fled, ditching the pokeballs they stole.

"Congratulations Pignite!" Ash hugged his warm starter, the fire pig chuckling.

"You look so cool Servine! Nice Leaf Tornado!" All timidity the grass snake had went away as she snuggled with her owner.

"Well done Dewott." Cheren praised, the water otter, folding his arms over in pride. Each of them took out their Pokedex to scan them.

Servine, the Grass Snake Pokémon. It moves along the ground as if sliding. Its swift movements befuddle its foes, and it retaliate with masterful whipping techniques.

Pignite, the Fire Pig Pokémon. When it is angered, its internal fire flares up, making its movements grow sharper and faster. When in trouble, it emits smoke.

Dewott, the Discipline Pokémon. Strict training is how it learns its well maintained flowing double-scalchop technique, making each dewott different from one another.

"Awesome! Now the second gym badge is going to go without a hitch!" Ash declared.

"Perhaps, but we mustn't get cocky. We need to train all our Pokémon so that they're as strong as our starters." Cheren reminded.

"Why don't we go back to the school?" Bianca suggested. "I bet we could train there."

"Great idea! But first, let's see if there's any Pokemon in here." Ash said. And find they did. Each of them caught something new. Bianca caught a drilbur, basically a short wide mole creature with a black and navy blue color pallet. Ash caught a woobat, a cyan, ball of shaggy fur with a heart shaped nose. Cheren caught a Roggenrola, a blue rock with many flat facets, a yellow hexagonal artifice in the center and brown rock feet and a oblong on the top of its head like an antennae. After that, they spent the rest of the day both being praised and awed as heroes by the children while also training with the care takers, evolving some of their Pokémon. Their Lillipups evolved as well, turning into herdiers, essentially larger dogs with dark blue fur covering their bodies and tails. Next was their Patrats evolving into Watchogs, now resembling meercats that stood slightly over 3.6 feet tall, along with gaining red fur with yellow markings, along with Cheren's Purrloin evolving into Liepard, a larger purple and yellow cat. Satisfied with their work, the trio stayed the night nearby the school, since the kids wanted to see them off in the morning. At 8:05, they were about to leave.

"Goodbye, thanks for hanging with us!"

"And saving our Pokemon too! Thank you so much!" They all shouted, the teenagers happy with the abundant appreciation.

"You sure taught the kids a lot of things." The older woman, Karena, complimented the raven haired boy. He pushed his glasses up.

"It was my pleasure."

"The kids especially loved you." The younger woman, Daniela, commented to Ash and Bianca. "I think they'd like if you two became a thing." While Ash blushed rather fiercely, the indirect phrase went over the blonde's head.

"What thing? Ash, do you know what she's talking about?"

"Oh, never mind." Daniela giggled. "You have an adventure, so we won't hold you up."

"Okay. Thanks for the hospitality. Goodbye!" Bianca said as they left. While they made their way to Nacrene City, Ash began thinking to himself.

("Me...and Bianca...a thing?" I don't even know if she knows what that specific love is. I mean, I do really like her. She's so nice, it's like her heart is made of gold. We always hugged each other when either one of us were upset or really happy. Actually, come to think of it...I don't really much remember her hugging Cheren all that much. Sure, he'd return it, but it's like he did it for politeness sake. Of us three, could hugging me on a daily basis be a sign? Okay, just so I don't confuse myself, I need to weigh her pros and cons. Cons: due to her autism, she's a bit of an airhead(sorry Bianca), she's a bit clumsy like with the stairs days ago, she's sometimes inconsiderate of others by accident, she's easily frightened in stressful situations and she tends to not think of something as bad than she should. But, I can't blame any of those things since none of it is by choice so of her actual faults, there aren't any as far as I know. Pros: She's very cute, she's just as capable as us when it comes to Pokémon, her hair is really soft, she has a nice and...developed body, she's optimistic and cheerful and she has pure ideals.") Ash smiled. ("Yeah, maybe hooking up with Bianca would be a good choice. But how should I approach her? I can't use any subtlety since nothing but the obvious goes straight over her head, so maybe a direct confession? I'll ask Cheren once we reach the city.") The boy told himself with a nod.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I was originally going to combine this with the scenes in Nacrene City, but it was getting too long so I cut it in half. What do you think of what I've written for this part?


	4. Just a 'Normal' Library

A/N: Just a very quick note, I'm switching Pidove's stats so that it's a special attacker instead of a physical one. The people who distribute stats sure flubbed up on that line.

The road was long and hard, facing many trainers that they took turns facing all day. But eventually around 5:00 pm, they made it to Nacrene City. However, they were too tired to take in the new scenery.

"Finally, we're here!" Bianca complained with her arms raised before collapsing onto her front, exhausted.

"Are you going to be okay?" Ash asked, equally as exhausted.

"Yeah. Just give me 10 minutes...on the ground." She mumbled, before snoring could be heard from the girl.

"I think a nap would suffice in helping us get reenergized." Cheren yawned, cracking the joints in his neck.

"Yeah, let's go to the Pokémon Center." Ash readily agreed as they picked up their female friend and dragged her to the center where they rented out beds. Cheren set a timer where they'd sleep for 45 minutes before going to sleep. By the end of it, they were fully energized and actually took a look around the city. It was...peculiar to say the least. The majority of the buildings on the outside are warehouses, but apparently when they asked, the city used to be a train facility until it was abandoned by the train industry and became a living community that defined art with its variety of refurbished colors and stained glass, occupied by artists, poets, singers and musicians. Getting directions from the same citizen, the trio went to the gym, which seems to have also been the place's museum and library.

"This will probably be my favorite gym by available sources." The bespectacled teen commented with a wide grin, pushing up his glasses.

"Uhhh, I don't know. Reading's always been hard for me. Thinking about all that time trying to learn..." Bianca shook her head while holding onto her hat.

"Hey, don't think like that." Ash tried to comfort her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Take pride in the fact you overcame that and can read now. I remember the first time you read by yourself. Such an accomplishment." Bianca smiled with a blush.

"Yeah. Thanks Ash." She hugged him gently and gingerly, and he recuperated. Normally Cheren would've rolled his eyes, but this time he genuinely smiled. Back in their childhood he remembered as well how much she struggled with learning a lot of things, and being unable to communicate with her father. She hated homework since she didn't know how to comprehend it unlike he and Ash. But with enough time and hard work: Mrs. Schroeder, Professor Juniper, Delia, he and Ash eventually taught her how to read and were more than overjoyed when they listened to her read "Chick Chicka Boom Boom" all by herself at 7 years old.

"I remember when you were 9 you were just obsessed with that kid with the purple crayon." Cheren added, contributing to the conversation. "You'd draw on anything and had dozens of crayon sets because you just loved drawing with the purple one. At the time I was annoyed you were hogging the color to yourself, but looking back at it now, I can't help but laugh." He chuckled.

"And who could forget when you read Charlotte's Web? You sure loved the friendship of Fern and Wilbur. Not to mention the friendship of Wilbur the tepig and Charlotte the joltic. You may have started later, but you were always just so happy when you completed another book. I'm proud of you." Bianca started to cry tears of overwhelming joy as they hugged together, though she and Ash brought Cheren in themselves instead of him doing it himself, but he didn't complain and the friends just hugged it out.

"Ash Ketchum." A familiar voice interrupted their moment. They disengaged the hug to see N, the same tranquil expression on his face. "I'm more of a Pokémon person than a people person, but even I can tell you have great compassion for her, even though she went through a difficult process that took years. You're on the autism spectrum, yes?" He asked Bianca, but she slinked behind Ash, not liking how...unnaturally serene his face looked. "Oh well, it doesn't matter to me whether you are autistic or not. I'm here for Ash." He pointed to the trainer.

"What do you want?" Ash asked, apprehensive about seeing this guy again.

"I...want to see things that no one else can. The truth of Pokémon inside pokeballs. The ideals of how trainers should be. And a future where Pokémon become perfect. Do you feel the same?"

"I don't know. I don't know what the truth is or ideals, but I know what a Pokémon trainer should be; a person who treats their Pokémon with respect, and treat them equally as humans."

"Huh. I expected more from you. You say Pokémon are equal to people, and yet why are they the only ones put into balls, while people do whatever they feel like all the time? Shouldn't humans be trapped by sphere like prisons as well?" Ash didn't know how to respond to N's question. "So you don't have an answer. If you're going to make claims like that, make sure that both can be applicable to any given situation. Now pay attention. My friends and I will test you to see if you can see this future, too." N took out a pokeball. "I do request though you send out your starter Pokémon. I need to communicate with it."

"Be careful Ash." Bianca whispered into his ear.

"I will." Ash nodded, before he walked away from his friends, preparing to battle this mysterious teenager. Without a word, he sent out his Pidove while Ash released his fire type starter. With practically an invisible order, the Tiny Pidgeon used Quick Attack and bashed itself into Pignite's gut, though it simply bounced off, the Fire Pig Pokémon chuckling in response. Pidove chirped in fright. "Flame charge." Producing fire around himself, he ran forward and over the flying type, trampling it with his power and weight. Down in one hit.

Returning the bird, N then showed his Timburr, a little grey humanoid with bulbous pink protrusions covering some of its body while it held up a squared log longer than it is tall. He was even able to throw it up into the air, doing a 360 flip before catching it easily. "Again." Ash ordered. Surrounding himself with more fire, Pignite charged with even faster speed, but Timburr was able to defend himself in time to soften the blow while glowing white just before. "One more time." For the third time, the fire type went on the offense, but still failed to break through the fighting type's guard. Suddenly, in a burst of white light, Timburr unleashed all the damage it took and dealt it all back against Pignite, blowing him back over 10 feet and onto his back, knocked out. "Pignite! Return!" He cried out, surprised by this turn of events. "Thanks buddy. You did a good job. Pidove, I choose you! Use Air Cutter!" The flying type crossed her wings and opened them quickly, creating and sending a light blue X across the field and connected against the fighting type. It couldn't withstand the attack and yelled in pain as he was knocked back, knocked unconscious. Closing his eyes, N returned his Pokémon.

"That will do. I have one more, but you'd easily beat him down as well. I can't see the future yet. The world is still to be determined. Right now, my friends aren't strong enough to save all the Pokémon. Maybe I can't solve the equation that will change the world. So I need power...power enough to make anyone agree with me."

"You have a bit of an ego, don't you?" Ash questioned, unamused by his rambling.

"All I have is the information I need. Reshiram. The legendary Pokémon that, along with the hero, created the Unova region. It's my turn to become that hero." N walked off, leaving them confused.

"Wow, you sure beat him down good. But what was he talking about?" Bianca commented.

"Thanks, and I don't know. He says he only uses Pokémon in the local area. But they're never stronger than the trainer. It's like pitting someone off the street in their hometown against a seasoned veteran who travelled the world. N shouldn't be a problem to us like this." Turning to his friends, he smiled. "Now then, let's have Pignite healed up and get ready for the gym challenge." After reviving and healing Pignite, the three entered the gym, only to see it was the museum section. The first thing they saw entering was a Dragonite skeleton, standing complete and tall. "Wow, that's so cool." Ash marveled.

"Fascinating." Cheren adjusted his glasses while looking impressed.

"Welcome! I'm Hawes Smith, the assistant director. Would you like a tour?"

"No thanks. I'm here to battle the gym leader." Ash replied.

"Oh, you wish to challenge my wife." Hawes perked up. In that case, let me guide you to the library." And so the assistant director led them through the museum past the armaldo fossil, a meteorite, a mask, a stone that was the darkest shade of black anyone has ever seen, and finally the library. "I can't help you past this point, but I can give you a hint. Look for the book labeled "Nice to meet you, Pokémon!" By Michael Johnson. If you don't know where to search, ask someone who's familiar." And then he walked off. Since this was basically a scavenger hunt, Ash seized the chance.

"Hey Cheren, how about you find the first book? I need to ask Bianca something in private."

"Alright." The raven haired boy obliged as he went ahead.

"What do you want to ask me?" Bianca asked. Ash looked around, and took her hand to guide them down to a place that appeared to be the only place empty in the entire library: the reference section. The girl blushed with this physical contact. Pretty sure no one would see them unless they entered the isle, Ash took a few deep breaths to steady himself.

"Is something wrong Ash?" She asked in a confused tone.

"No no, it's just..." Ash blushed quite heavily as he looked at anything but her, even coughing to try to get it out. Despite the opportunity, he didn't ask Cheren anything beforehand, so he was in the dark on what to say. But seeing that Bianca may not understand anything except the straight question and answers, he just spoke the best way he could. "Do you remember at that school where Daniela told us about being a thing?"

"Oh yeah. What about it?"

"Well, what she meant was that the kids would be happy if they saw us as a...couple." Now it was the girl's turn to blush just as much as the boy right in front of her.

"Y-you mean like boy and girlfriend?" She asked, her hands twirling around nervously.

"Yeah. And thinking about it, we are best friends after all. We're both optimistic, we have the same interests both in Pokémon and hobbies and stuff. But more than that, I also thought about how sweet you are as a person and you're...cute." She gasped. "While I'm not sure if I love you because we've spent our whole lives together, I do have to admit; I wouldn't be opposed if we did become a couple. What do you think?" Bianca started to cry, concerning Ash. "What, is it something I said?"

"Oh Ash!" She yelled out as she hugged him, getting a lot of shushing from readers outside the isle. "I-" He clamped her mouth shut. He whispered strongly,

"Bianca, this is a library. Speak softly please." Nodding to show she understood, he let go of her mouth. "Ash, you...you made me feel just so...so happy right now. Th-the truth is... I've loved you all these years." Ash was shocked to hear this. "Aside from my mom, you were the one that understood me the best. You helped me. You cared for me. Even though I'm autistic, you never treated me differently and acted like a loving big brother to me. Do you remember all those years ago, when it was my parents anniversary? It was 10 years ago." Thinking back, it was in the summer of 2001 when Bianca's parents had reserved a dinner at Striaton City, and 6 year old Bianca stayed over at the Ketchum house. She knew how to speak, though it took awhile for her to articulate her words, and she still didn't know how to read by herself yet, among other things 6 year olds typically knew. While neither of them knew what an anniversary was, Delia did explain to them that they were doing something together because they've been together for a certain number of years out of love. Even though it took a minute, Bianca did eventually say,

"I'd like to have annivesay with Ash." She even hugged him to prove it. Delia just laughed it off saying that'd be great if it did happen, but Ash back then didn't know how to respond to the situation. Back in the present,

"By the time I learned what love, romantic relationships and anniversaries actually were, I didn't know how you'd react." She looked away, now looking sad. "I didn't know if you would've loved a stupid girl with autism like me. You just seemed too special for me, that I don't deserve you, or even love." But then her happy face came back as she looked into his eyes. "But when you said that you weren't opposed, it made me so happy. Even if the roles are reversed, can you be my boyfriend Ash?" Realizing he was in the spot, he wondered what to do, but after listening to his heart, Ash moved his arms from her shoulders to her cheeks.

"You're not a stupid girl Bianca. You're smart, determined, cute, and someone I'd like to love too. Here's my answer." He moved his head forward to kiss her. Bianca moaned as she wrapped her arms around his body, softly digging her nails into his jacket. She moaned softly as their lips pressed into each, feeling the warmth and smoothness. They soon disengaged before Ash then proceeded to hug her just like she was. Ash snuggled his face into her hat, liking the texture while Bianca rubber her own into his neck, smiling while one last tear dropped off her face.

"Ahem." They Bianca focused and saw Cheren with a smug smirk while he held what appeared to be a kids book. The two quickly got out of the hug, looking incredibly awkward. "Don't worry guys. Whatever it was that lead to this, you don't need to explain, though I'll listen if you want later on. I'm happy for you both." He nodded while pushing his glasses up.

"Thank you." Both of them said before chuckling.

"Anyway, here's what I've found. Showing them the book, and a colorful children's book at that, which he flipped to the back. Written on the back was a memo saying,

"Pokémon trainers! I am the gym leader, Lenora Smith! I hid four memos in this library and each one has a question. Can you solve the questions and find me? Here's the first question. What's the first Pokémon you've met in this gym?"

"That would be the Dragonite skeleton." Ash replied.

"Then we'll need to find a book about them. Spread out." Looking through the various isles, Cheren found it, labeled "The Dragonite Keeper" by Robin Hobb, and rounded them up. Like before, they looked until there was a memo.

"As I thought, that question was easy. Here's the second question, in a form of 'What am I'. "Flame burns inside my body, and I give off smoke from my head while I run." What am I?"

"I'll look for anything about the tepig line." Ash volunteered.

"Wait, the question is grammatically correct. If it were a sentient being, it'd be "Who am I?" But it's a what. Which means that we need to find a book about..." Cheren thought about this before it dawned on him. "Locomotives. We need to look for that." Asking around, they went to the engineering section of the library, and checked out the books until Ash found it, labeled "Structure of a Locomotive" by Georgina Stephens. Reading the memo,

"This is what I expect of a challenger like you. Here's the third question. If you heat it up in a pot, it'll be delicious. Pokémon love it, so what food is it?"

"Oh, I know this one!" Bianca gasped, only to be shushed. She spoke quieter. "They're poffins. They're popular in the Sinnoh region." So they followed her to the cooking section and eventually found the book labeled "Sweets for Pokémon" by Melissa Cook. Skipping to the back, there's the final memo.

"Did you manage to get here without getting confused? Here's the last question. How do convicts escape prison while covering their tracks?"

"I don't know that one." Bianca sweated.

"Me neither." Cheren groaned while adjusting his glasses. Thinking about it, Ash looked around, and noticed that of all the bookshelves in the library, only one had a poster saying, "Reading is fun, but ever better with proper support. Don't lean against shelf."

"I think I found it. Follow me." Ash said as he and his friends walked towards the middle right bookshelf, and Ash leaned back on it. The whole thing began to rumble before it started moving back, revealing a staircase underneath the shelf. Holding both his hands up, his friends high fived at the same time before heading down. Down below seemed to be a lair that looked like an office, and inside was an African American woman sporting a teal colored afro, a white button up shirt, blue bell bottom pants and red slippers. Turning towards them, turns out her afro was pulled back by a headband, and she wore deep red lipstick. She stood quite tall as well, potentially reaching 6 feet at best.

"Welcome, children! The director of the Nacrene Museum and leader of the Nacrene Gym is me, Lenora Smith! I commend you a job well done for finding me here! You have the wisdom, but let's see if you also have the strength. Who wants to challenge me first?" After doing some rock paper scissors, Ash won.

"I'll go first. This is my second gym badge."

"Splendid. Follow me." She walked to a door in the back of her office where on the other side was a flat battle field. Once they got into position, Ash and Lenora on the field, along with Cheren and Bianca on the sides, Hawes came in to act as referee.

"This a battle between Ash the challenger and my lovely wife, Lenora." The two briefly blew kisses. " This will be a 2 on 2 match. When all the Pokémon on one side is defeated, the battle is decided. Only the challenger may substitute. Let the battle begin!"

"Go, Herdier!" Lenora sent out her Loyal Dog Pokémon.

"Pidove, I choose you!" In the air, his Tiny Pigeon flew. Herdier growled, intimidating the flying type. "Use Quick Attack!" Despite the fear inducing tactic, she moved very fast, ramming herself into the dog, whom grunted from the force.

"Counter with Take Down!" Herdier ran as fast as he could and slammed into the flying type, chirping in pain from such a hard hitting move.

"Quick, get away with Gust!" Flapping her wings, the bird managed to blow back the dog, sending him tumbling across the field.

"Don't give up! Use Bite!"

"Stop it with Fury Cutter!" Ash ordered. Crossing her wings, she unleashed a light blue X that went right at the Loyal Dog Pokémon, exploding on contact. He crashed right at Lenora's feet, defeated.

"Herdier is unable to battle! The winner is Pidove!" Hawes announced.

"Good work Pidove!"

"Return Herdier. Take a nice rest. Pretty good strategy Ash! I can tell what kind of trainer you are! But no matter how grim the situation is, I have the strategy to take you out! Watchog, it's time to shine!" She exclaimed as she sent out her ace, Watchog. He screeched his name as he let the yellow markings on his fur shine brightly, blinding Pidove.

"Augh, that's bright." Ash grumbled as he shielded his eyes.

"Use Retaliate!" Lunging head first, Watchhog smashed headfirst into Pidove, delivering a mighty attack. She chirped in pain as Ash caught her in his arms, fainting.

"Pidove is unable to battle! The winner is Watchog!"

"Pidove, return." Ash said. "Thanks. Good work Pidove. Pignite, I choose you!" Now on the field was the Fire Pig Pokémon.

"Use Hypnosis!" Watchog's eyes glowed yellow as he stared down at the pig.

"Close your eyes!" Ash pleaded. Luckily, he did close his eyes fast enough to not be hypnotized.

"Now use Crunch!" Lunging forward, the meerkat sunk his teeth into Pignit's side, howling from the injury.

"Use Flame Charge straight up!" Producing fire around himself, he charged through the air, burning Watchog as he was along for the ride. Falling down to the ground, Pignite landed right on top of the normal type, crushing all the air out of his lungs. Getting up, the fire type promptly threw the Lookout Pokémon away onto the other side of the field. After a few coughs, Watchog stood back up again, now angry.

"That's right, we don't ever surrender! Use Retaliate!"

"Counter with Arm Thrust!" With his speed enhanced, Pignite was able to push his right hand into the normal type's forehead, stopping it momentum. He then proceeded to slap Watchog with his left before thrusting his right into the meerkat's stomach, sending him flying back. He was promptly defeated.

"Watchog is unable to battle! The winner is Pignite, and the victor of this match is Ash!" Hawes declared.

"Alright! You did great Pignite! Ash cheered, the fire pig puffing his chest in triumph.

"Watchog, return." Lenora said, a smile still on her face. "You did your best. Thank you." Turning her attention to Ash, her face expressed just how proud she was. "You're more than just talented, you're motivated! I salute to you Ash!"

"Thanks. Your Watchog was surprising." Ash complimented.

"Thank you as well. You certainly know how to handle situations. Using long range moves on melee enemies while using a bulky Pokémon on a strong but fragile Pokémon, along with a super effective move to boot. You're a trainer worthy of the Basic Badge. Here it is." She handed him a long, narrow rectangle that resembled the spine of a book colored purple with gilded accents.

"Thank you so much." Ash nodded.

"Way to go Ash!" Bianca cheered as she ran to him to hug and kiss her new boyfriend on the cheek. He laughed as he hugged her back.

"Ah, young love. Right honey?" She asked her husband.

"Indeed." Hawes agreed as they shared a short peck on the lips.

"Mrs. Lenora!" One of the female staff came down the stairs. "You need to come quick! Team Plasma is stealing our bones!"

"What?! Everyone, come with me!" They all rushed up the stairs and got to the museum section, where knights filled the floor heavily with numbers. "Now you just wait a minute! Don't you dare fool around with my digs!"

"Ah, so you've come." One of the male knights acknowledged. "We, Team Plasma, here by claim the skull of your Dragonite in the name of Pokémon liberation! To show how serious we are, we'll take it right before your eyes! Now!" They all threw smoke grenades around, quickly obscuring their sight.

"Bianca, our Pidoves!" Cheren shouted.

"Alright!" Unleashing their birds, they yelled, "Gust!" The flying types started flapping their wings causing the air to circulate, being pushed out of the busted front doors and windows revealing all the knights were gone, along with the Dragonite skull!"

"Hey, get back here!" The gym leader screamed as she ran out of the museum with shockingly blistering speed.

"We need to go after them!" Hawes declared. Once they were outside, Lenora was looking all over the place, but Team Plasma was gone.

"Dang nabbit! I'll get them for this." The woman threatened, fury evident in her eyes. It was then that a man with wavy brown hair came around from the west, now past sundown, wearing a green shirt and vertical pink and black stripped pants, along with a pink scarf.

"Lenora, what's wrong? I was coming over for a visit and you're in a frenzy."

"A gang just came by and stole my dragon skull! Of course I'd be ticked off!" She growled.

"You were robbed? How awful! I'll help you search then." He offered.

"Thanks Burgh. Children, meet Burgh Thompson, Castelia's gym leader.

"Hello. My name is Ash, and my friends are Bianca and Cheren. We're all challenging Lenora and I already won."

"You won her challenge? That's brilliant!" Burgh cheered flamboyantly. "That must mean you're both strong and smart. With two gym leaders and three trainers, there's no way we can lose them!"

"I'll stay here and guard the place." Hawes volunteered.

"I'll stay too. No way someone is going to desecrate the place on my watch." The raven haired boy declared while adjusting his tie.

"Ash, Bianca, follow me if you will. We're heading to Pinwheel Forest! Are you ready and raring to round up some rousing robbers?" Burgh inquired.

"Yes!" The newly formed couple accepted, ready for the challenge.  
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A/N: So, how did I do with Bianca and her autism, along with Ash's and N's conversation? Those were the most interesting to write.


	5. Make a Wish

Ash and Bianca followed Burgh as they went past West side of the city, and just as they were going to enter the dark forest, Burgh stopped suddenly so they stopped too.

"Uh, just a quick question, is any of your Pokémon unconscious at the moment of time?"

"My Pidove is." Ash answered.

"Alright. Bring him out, and I'll resuscitate it with this." He shared a revive crystal, a diamond shaped mineral. Once Ash did so and Pidove ate the mineral, she perked right up. "Perfect! Here's a potion to get it all better. But be swift, for if they scuttle into the forest, we may be in trouble!" The gym leader then dashed into the forest.

"I hope we can get that skull back in time." Bianca commented in a worried tone. After Pidove was healed, Ash returned the bird.

"Don't worry. I know we will." He affirmed with a confident smile. She returned it as they entered the forest, where they found Burgh looking dumbfounded.

"Oh boy, this is sure a conundrum." He bemoaned before turning to the teenagers.

"Something wrong?" Ash asked.

"Well...you see, there are two paths. To the North is the direct path while the other is the more...scenic route, so to speak. Tell you what though, since there's two of you, you can easily navigate through the forest while I cut straight to the finish line, that way we catch them in a two pronged attack. Let's do this for Lenora's sake!"

"Sounds good." They both said. Burgh then ran off down the straight path. With an understood nod, they threw out their Pokeballs. "Pignite, I choose you!/Come on out Servine!" And with that they ran through the forest, hunting down Team Plasma members. They found three on the way, but they didn't have the skull. But the forth one, he was hauling it around in a wagon. Upon hearing footsteps, the knight turned around.

"Pursuers? You're just a couple of brats! After going through my comrades, you're likely now too tired to face me! I'll take you on!" Bianca and Ash smugly grinned at each other. He was promptly defeated in three moves. "Ah, fine! Take your stupid skull!" He then ditched them, leaving them with the fossilized stone.

"Alright!" Both of them shouted before high fiving.

"Ah yes, celebrate now children, for it'll be your last." They turned to see an old man in a robe. "As it turns out, that skull was actually of no use for our king. It's not what we were searching for of the Pokémon of legend that Team Plasma has been looking for. Worthless. But I won't allow you to just disrupt our plans willy-nilly and get away with it. I'll make sure you never interfere with us again."

"I think not!" From the trees, Burgh jumped from out of nowhere and joined the teens. "I sensed the bug Pokémon getting all antsy, so here I came! What do I spy with my little eye? This important looking guy! Are you here to protect your underlings we defeated?"

"Don't leave me out of this!" Lenora came in to join the three. "The others didn't-my skull! And who's that guy, the boss or something? I'll whoop his ass seven ways to Sunday!" She threatened. He looked undeterred from her threat, or the numbers.

"I'm one of the seven sages of Team Plasma. Ghetsis, another one of the seven sages, will liberate Pokémon with words alone! The remainder of the seven sages have ordered their compatriots to take Pokémon with full force. But the odds are a little against us now. To you, Burgh and Lenora, I say this: Know your enemies, know yourself, and you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. This time, we shall retreat quietly. To ensure the liberation of Pokémon, we shall steal Pokémon from trainers! Even though you are gym leaders, we will not tolerate any further obstruction from you. In any case, we will settle this someday. I hope you're looking forward to that as much as I." A plume of smoke erupted from his feet, only to reveal he has disappeared when it cleared.

"What a bunch of nonsense. So what say you Burgh? Gonna catch them?" She asked her fellow gym leader, but he yawned.

"Hmmmm, we got the skull back, and if we corner them there's no telling what they'll do. I'll just head home to sleep. Ash, Bianca, I'll be waiting for your challenge. I'm certainly looking forward to it. Salutations, everyone." He then wandered off towards the city. She sighed with resignation.

"That bug boy. He never finishes anything if he's not motivated." She turned to the teens. "Kids, thanks so much for getting my skull back. With trainers like you, the Pokémon you're taking care of will be happy. Here's a token of my gratitude. Please use it carefully." She handed them a moonstone.

"Cool! Thanks for the gift!" Bianca expressed with a smile.

"You're welcome. You and Cheren will have to wait before the gym is open for business again in the morning, so feel free to stay in Nacrene City for the night." She suggested. They followed the woman back to her city where they reconnected with Cheren. Once the remaining two got their turn with Lenora, they said their farewells before heading back into Pinwheel Forest. Along with battling a lot of trainers, they caught a lot of Pokémon too. Ash caught a tympole, a throh, a timburr and a venipede. Bianca caught a sewaddle and a cottonee while Cheren caught a Sawk and a petilil. It took a day and a half to get through the forest, but when they did reach they end, they saw the amazing sight of the Skyarrow Bridge, leading to Castelia City. Bianca felt slightly uncomfortable, proceeding to push her finger into her ear if there was anything in there, but no. It appeared to be coming from the bridge, but she didn't know what.

"Wow, now that's a bridge if I've ever seen one!" Ash awed at the piece of architecture.

"Built by Leo Solomon and Nathaniel Nicholson in 1910. 1.3 miles long with the towers over 100 meters tall. The first suspension bridge of its kind." Cheren listed off facts as he pushed his glasses up.

"Cool! Let's cross it!" Ash suggested as they went to a long manmade tunnel like hallway that continued on a long length before it started to spiral upwards. At the end, an employee stood at the end behind glass was serving as toll. The room must be mostly soundproof because the traffic on the other side sounded like the volume of a humming refrigerator.

"Hello. What ages are you?"

"We're 16." Ash answered.

"In that case that'll be $20 for each of you." After paying their toll, she pressed a button unlocking the door to the bridge. However, once they actually opened the door, the sound of traffic bombarded them, and Bianca screamed in pain as she covered her ears, falling down from the sensitivity overload.

"Bianca!" The boys cried out.

"Too loud!" She shrieked, writhing on the floor. Cheren immediately went and closed the door, the sounds becoming mute again.

"Is she alright?!" The employee questioned with fright.

"She's okay. Bianca has autism. The traffic overloaded her ears." Ash told her as he tended to his friend, whom was crying from experiencing such an ordeal. "Come on, let's get you out of here first." He recommended as he and Cheren picked their friend up and assisted her back to the beginning of the hallway. They set her down on a chair. "Bianca, Bianca listen to me. How do you feel?" The trainer asked while getting down onto one knee.

"N-no. That was...so painful. My ears still hurt." She cried, tears trailing down her face and landing on her white skirt. "It's like the sound from out here became...a thousand times worse at the door."

"I should've seen this coming." Cheren grumbled as he pinched his nose. "If we could hear it back here, then of course it'd be unbearable up close. Dang decibels and their logarithmic rate."

"Is there anything we can do? Anything at all?" Opening her wet eyes to see her two friends staring at her in concern, something did come to mind. She pulled her legs up to hug them.

"Can...can you sing me that song? The one that calmed me down as a kid?"

"Oh, that one." Ash realized, his memory thinking back to their childhood. "Cheren, can you start it off?"

"You want me in this? You know I can't sing." He mentioned, and he was right given that while he had good pitch, his sense of musical tempo was awful, either going too fast or too slow and thus made singing not one of his strong suites. It was only when he sang with someone else he sounded even close to good.

"You don't need to sing, just do the beginning noise and I'll go from there." Ash told him. Cheren rolled his eyes but nodded in agreement. His mouth made an o shape and he started to say 'Oooooo' with fluctuating tones from the song. Once it was Ash's turn, he began to sing. (Listen to Pokémon song 'Make a Wish' now. I don't own the song.)

"When daytime turns to night, when the moon shines bright. When you're tucked in tight, when everything's all right. Slip softly to that place, where secret thoughts run free. There come face to face, with who you want to be, so...

Swim across the ocean blue, fly a rocket to the moon. You can change your life, or you can change the world Take a chance, don't be afraid. Life is yours to live. Take the chance, and then the best has yet to coooooooooome.

Maaaaake a wiiiiiish. It's up to youuu. Find the strength inside, and watch your dreams come truuuue. You don't need a shooting star, the magic's right there in your heart. Cloooose your eyeeees, believe, and maaake aaa wiiiiiish." Ash then sat next to his girlfriend while she took calming breathes, tranquil tears coming back to her eyes as she smiled, leaning onto Ash. Placing a hand on her back, he continued.

"I know it must be hard, to believe but that's me. Without a single doubt, that is really me.

I felt so helpless then, reflecting back on what has been. But now I know, I should look ahead, toward the ever bright future. And then, when I realize this, little by little I'll come to see. I will start to return to my childhood. To the days when you praised me for singing those love songs. The meaning of which I had yet to understaaaaaand.

Wheeeen I look up to the skyyyyy...my voice gradually naturally becomes fulllllll. In the wake of rustling wind, I will fly and you should too. Fly awayyyyy...You and I. IIIIII can heeeear, a voice somewheeeeeere, it is telling meeeee when and where to goooooo. Here in the rustling wind, under these million stars, I aaaaaaaaaaaam singing this here for youuuuuuuu." During this pause, Ash slung his right arm over her shoulders, and hugged her tight, rocking themselves back and forth. Bianca was humming along now, and Ash turned to Cheren with a victorious smile, Cheren giving a thumbs up as a response.

"Ooooh, I've always hoped for happiness, and finally fulfilled my wish. Cause I just neeeed, to see you smiiiiiiile." Now Cheren started singing.

"Wheeeen I look (Make a wish!), up to the skyyyy (It's up to you)…My voice naturally gradually becomes fulllllll (Watch your dreams come true!)! In the wake of rustling wind, I will fly and you should too (The magic's right there in your heart). Fly awayyyy, you and IIIII (Believe!)" Cheren stooped down in front of Bianca and Ash so they were in a tight triangle.

"Maaaaake a wiiiiiish! It's up to youuu! Find the strength inside, and watch your dreams come truuuue! You don't need a shooting star, the magic's right there in your heart! Cloooose your eyeeees, believe, and maaake aaa wiiiiiish." Ash waited a few seconds before whispering in her ear,

"Make a wish." He then kissed her cheek. Bianca, her face all wet now with happy tears, straightened up in her seat.

"Thank you guys so much. You really are the two best friends a girl could ask for." Standing up, they all had a good group hug for a couple of minutes before disengaging.

"Come on, let's get you some headphones or something so that you're not overwhelmed again."

"Thanks. I love you Ash." Bianca said. Ash smiled.

"I love you too."  
\--------------  
A/N: (Sounds of crying to myself) Bwaaahaaahaaaa! 😭 That was so beautiful! Back in my childhood whenever I'd have a panic attack from sensory overload, this was one of my favorite songs to sing to help myself calm down. So hopeful, so melodic, so inspiring. I wish I had this kind of support all the time instead of half of the time. It feels so good to write a character I can personally relate to, even if it's a tweak of a canon character in a fanfiction story. What do you guys think about this chapter? I'd really appreciate some feedback, please, since this was more personal to me than it usually is.


	6. Castelia City

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ash vs Burgh

Once Ash bought his girlfriend noise cancelling headphones which were comfortable for her, they went back to the Skyarrow Bridge, and had so much fun walking across the bridge, watching the cars and trucks driving underneath them. Even a boat passed by underneath the bridge, much to their enjoyment. As they reached the other side and made down the opposite end, it was amazing what they saw. Some of the buildings have earned their name of skyscraper, reaching into the clouds to the point the highest points wasn't visible. This was obviously their first time in a giant metropolis, since they've never seen buildings so high or so many people bustling about that it was almost overwhelming. Or in Bianca's case, exactly overwhelming as she hid behind the two boys.

"Oh...so many people." Ash could feel her quivering with fright.

"Don't worry Bianca, I'll protect you." He assured her, grasping her hand with his. She didn't hear him, but the way he looked saying what he did calm her down. In response, she clung to his arm tightly, feeling safe and smiling.

"You're hopeless." Cheren sighed while adjusting his glasses. "So that we're not slowed down too much, how about you give Bianca a good time while I challenge Burgh. I don't want to wait too long getting there.

"Okay then. Here's a map." Ash pointed to a big sign showing the layout of the city. The gym is in Castelia Street, the most eastern of said streets.

"Oh, Ash! Look!" Bianca pointed to a particular point on Mode Street. "There's an ice cream shop right next to an art gallery! Let's go there!" Ash smiled and nodded, showing her that he liked the idea.

"Sounds good. See you guys later." Cheren said as he walked down the street.

"Where's he going?" The blonde haired girl asked, not having heard their conversation. Ash pointed to the gym, and she went 'oh.' in response. Knowing where they wanted to go now, they ventured into the city. As they walked, Ash couldn't help but feel something very soft rubbing against his arm. Shifting his eyes, he realized that in hugging Ash, her chest smooshed into his arm, making the boy blush. In fact, he always felt like this whenever he and Bianca hugged after they both hit puberty, noticing her chest became softer and softer each passing year. He usually tried to ignore it, since for one, they weren't a couple and were too young, and the other reason being that he didn't want to take advantage of his best friend. So aside from...sexual relief by himself at nights, Ash for the most part just ignored his carnal instincts and just treated Bianca like he always did: his friend. But now that they were a couple, Ash did let his mind wander on if they did become that kind of couple. "What are you thinking about?" The girl asked, bringing him back to reality.

"Oh, uh...nothing important." He replied. While his mannerisms seemed to imply nothing, his blush seemed to intense for her to believe.

("Seems like I need to investigate.") She grinned to her thought before it was derailed when she saw it. "Ah, there it is!" She ran ahead of the surprised Ash and went right up to a stand called Basculin' Robbins with two cartoony versions of the actual fish on the sign. It actually made Ash chuckle from the irony.

"Hello customer. What would you like?" The female employee asked with a smile.

"What?" Bianca asked, trying to pry her headphones open but the noise of the people on the street made her cringe and reconsider.

"Excuse my girlfriend." Ash came to the rescue, placing an arm around her shoulders. "She has a hearing sensitivity so the streets make her uncomfortable. I got her the headphones."

"Oh how thoughtful." The woman smiled. "So, what would you like?"

"I'll have the "Double Strawberryberry." Bianca requested.

"Cottonee Candy." Ash said. After getting their two scoops that cost $1.84, they went to the park in the center of the city. Sitting on a bench with a hip hop dancer nearby, they took a lick of their ice cream.

"Hmmmm! This tastes amazing!" The blonde cheered. Ash smiled watching her enjoy the frozen treat. They sat there, enjoying their ice cream while watching people walk by on their strolls either alone, together or with Pokémon. That is, until the cone of Bianca's ice cream broke and her half eaten sphere fell to the ground. "No! My ice cream!" She started to sniffle and tears started to form in her eyes. That is until a blue and pink swirled ice cream entered her vision, Ash holding it to her. With a grateful smile, she took it and licked the small sphere, perking back up. "Oh my goodness this is so sweet! Thank you!" Even though she didn't hear him, his lips said you're welcome, before proceeding to say those three special words. Even if the words were silent it still made her heart flutter. "I love you too." For the next 15 minutes they sat their, eating ice cream and gazing lovingly at each other, loving their time together. Ash's Xtranceiver than rang, and he answered.

"Yes Cheren?"

"I'm finished. Where are you?"

"In the park. How was your challenge?"

"He's a seasoned gym leader. He made me work for it, but since his specialty is bug, it wasn't too big of a challenge. I'll keep winning like this through all the gym leaders, then I'll enter the Pokémon League and outperform the champion. Then everyone will acknowledge how strong I am. That will make me feel truly alive."

"Just don't forget the phrase though. It's more of the journey than the destination." Ash pointed out.

"I can't let myself get distracted by the journey. Becoming champion, and the friends that help me there are what truly matters." The bespectacled teen replied. Ash sighed. Ever since he's seen his first Pokémon League tournament on the tv and witnessed the champion in his earlier prime, Alder Ray, he wanted to become the champion because it was the coolest. But from then on, at least to Ash, it seemed like his admiration became obsession because for all his smarts, all the times he pretended to be a trainer, it was to just for the goal to be the strongest and that'd be it. It was lost on Bianca because she too could have near obsessive amounts of fascination for things, but that was due to her autism. And in her case, she never kept the same hobby for more than a few months at the longest, always alternating activities like fashion trends. But the plus side to that is that Bianca had the widest range of skills between them if she didn't struggle in them. A Jackie of all trades so to speak.

"Alright, we'll be there." Hanging up, he offered a hand to his girlfriend, whom gladly accepted it as they stood up and went to the store. Heading down the street, they saw their friend talking with Burgh outside the gym.

"Ah, friends!" The gym leader yelled with enthusiasm while throwing his arms up in excitement. "Yes, you helped me in Pinwheel forest! Cheren here helped me memorize your names! Burnt into my head now. Ash and Bianca." Ash nodded to this while Bianca seemed lost on what they were talking about, unable to hear them. "Unfortunately, you'll have to wait your turn. You two are also looking for your third badge, but my team on that level was just beaten out. My assistants are healing them right now. But even more than that, come with me, if you will! As I was leaving I was informed Team Plasma is in the city!" The two boys gasped. Bianca was busy watching a pidove eat a half-eaten burger off the ground. "Let's go!" Burgh ran off while they all followed in pursuit, all except Bianca still watching the Pokémon until Ash had to return and take her hand so she'd come along as well. At Prime Pier, a little girl was crying with an older girl trying to comfort her along with what appeared to be her mom or guardian. Her brown skin implied mix ethnicity, and her hair was both purple and huge, big enough she could theoretically crawl inside it! "You miss! You're the one that gave the alert of this thievery?"

"Yes! My name is Iris Morris, and this little girl's Pokémon has been stolen!" She told the gym leader.

"They took my pet munna. I want Munny back." The little girl cried.

"I've never seen such uncouth behavior before." The woman stated.

"I tried running after the thief but even with my acrobatics the city is so large and there's a lot of people. Who thought it'd be easy to lost a knight? Ugh, I'm so frustrated! Taking people's Pokémon is bad! Really really bad!" Iris growled in anger as she stomped her foot.

"Axew!" A small little dinosaur popped out of her large hair, surprising everyone except Burgh.

"You did the best you could Iris. But don't worry, I am here! Me and my friends here will help search for your munna and we'll bring these scoundrels to justice!"

"But this will be like looking for a needle in a haystack." Cheren pointed out, adjusting his glasses. "The odds of finding them are next to-"

"There!" The girl's guardian pointed out, spotting a Team Plasma knight. Realizing that someone spotted her, she yelped and booked it.

"Let's pursue!" Burgh declared before all but the girl and woman followed. Going down the same street that the gym was at, they spotted the knight just entering a building that had guards. Upon getting closer, they didn't look like knights, but their Plasma logo was on each of their breast pockets. "You there, we need to enter this building! It is of the upmost importance!"

"No one's allowed in. There's especially no Team Plasma members in the building. Not a soul."

"We didn't say anything about Team Plasma." Cheren pointed out.

"You gave away our position, Dave! Now we need to fight then! Backup!" From around, the number of guards soon went from three to five. They fought with their Pokémon, and the heroes won thanks to their supreme strength. "This is bad. But you're too late! The seven sages have already left the building, so you get nothing!"

"Give us back the munna anyway!" Iris shouted.

"Hold it! Put your hands behind your head and get down on your knees! You're under arrest!" Various police arrived at the scene, all of them with a trained Herdier. The guards had no choice but do as demanded. Once they were detained, the head officer, named Jenny, approached the group. "Gym Leader Burgh, what was this about?"

"A member of Team Plasma took a munna from a little girl, and we tried to get it back, and here we are." He answered.

"Oh, then good news then. We just retrieved a munna and was trying to identify it."

"I can lead you to the rightful owners. I know where they are." Iris offered.

"Axew!" Her dragon Pokémon added.

"Thank you miss. Lead the way. Burgh, as you will."

"Same for you. Thanks for lending a hand, Iris." The gym leader complimented.

"You're welcome. Follow me!" Officer Jenny then followed Iris leading the way.

"Well then, what are we planning on doing now?" Burgh asked.

"There's the battle between us." Ash said.

"Stupendous! My Pokémon should be healed up by now so let's getting rolling!" The gym leader cheered.  
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Once they were in the gym, it was a unique room so to speak. The room was shaped like a honeycomb hexagon with trees and bushes surrounding honey colored walls. Ash and Bianca played rock paper scissors to see who goes first, and Ash won.

"Welcome to the Castelia gym, Ash. My bugs are scurrying with excitement to battle you."

"And I'm itching to battle you as well! Let's get to it!" Ash declared with confidence. The announcer coughed before yelling,

"The match between Ash the challenger and Burgh the gym leader is about to begin! This will be a 3 on 3 matchup! The battle will be completed when every Pokémon on one side are unable to continue! Let the battle begin!"

"Dwebble, let's go!" The first of Burgh's buggy Pokémon was what looked like a small orange hermit crab with big pincers with a rock for a shell.

"Pignite, I choose you!" Ash summoned his fire starter onto the field. "Use Flame Charge!"

"Counter with Rock Blast!" The Dwebble's shell glowed orange as three silver orbs of energy appeared, and they were fired off in rapid succession. Pignite smashed through the first rock, but he stumbled, allowing the second rock to stop his momentum and have the third slam into his stomach, stopping his assault with a painful huff. Ash growled before thinking of an idea.

"Pignite, use Tackle!" Puffing flames through his nose, he ran ahead towards the little bug.

"Please, if a fire type move didn't work, then how will a normal type will. Rock Blast, again!" Dwebble once again formed silver orbs, but Ash was ready.

"Push them aside and attack with Arm Thrust!" Using his strength, Pignite deflected the attacks away, much to the surprise of Burgh and his bug type, before the Rock Inn Pokémon started getting smacked around by the fire pig.

"Withdraw!" Burgh pleaded. Withdrawing into its shell, Pignite slapped the creature away to the opposite end of the field where he left his shell.

("Hmm. It's likely that he won't fall for the same technique twice. Neither Flame Charge or Rollout will reach him fast enou-that's it!") Ash realized. "Pignite, run around the field with Flame Charge!" Wondering what he was thinking but trusted his master, he started sprinting around the field while producing fire around his body.

"What is he doing? That won't defeat Dwebble." Bianca commented in confusion, but Cheren pushed his glasses up with a smirk.

"Whatever you're planning, it won't work. Dwebble, Rock Blast where he'll be!" With a little bit of aiming, the bug/rock type fired silver orbs where he'll run to next.

"Arm Thrust!" Ash ordered. Stopping, Pignite went on the defensive and deflected the incoming attacks. "Flame Charge again!" Surrounding himself in flame again, he ran much faster this time.

"Rock Blast, once more!" Making even more of the orbs, the Rock Inn Pokémon tried attacking him, but this time they missed where he was going to be by a wide margin.

"Flame Charge once more!" Continuing on with the tactic, Pignite went even faster than before, by this point running around the 200 feet wide hexagon shaped arena every few seconds.

"No, his attack is making him faster with each succession!" Burgh realized too late.

"That's right! Get it with Arm Thrust!" Ash commanded with a smile. Pignite took a sharp right and went on the attack.

"Withdraw!" Burgh pleaded. Even though it retreated into its shell, Pignite's new speed allowed him to punch the small creature with enough force to send it flying and out of bounds, imbedding itself into the wall from the impact. It was safe to assume it was out.

"Dwebble is unable to battle! The winner is Pignite!" The announcer declared.

"Way to go Ash!" Bianca cheered.

"Dwebble, return. You did good. Rest now. That's a clever way to use your moves to your advantage. It does appear that I'm on the ropes, but be wary of insects that are in a corner! Whirlipede, let's go!" Now on the field was what looked like a spiky lavender wheel with red circles along its body and angry eyes on the sides. "Iron Defense!" Gaining a light blue aura before turning into a shiny grey sheen, it looked like it could now take any attack.

"Try to beat it with another Flame Charge!" Firing up another attack, Pignite tried to one hit KO the Curlipede Pokémon, but not only was the attack stopped, it didn't even budge, though from the sound of a groan it still hurt.

"Now, counter with Poison Tail!" Burgh instructed. The spikes around its body glowed purple before running over Pignite, leaving scratches all over his body as he hissed in pain. But as soon as he got up, a fiery aura surrounded him, and he got all revved up.

"Pigniiiiiite!" He squealed.

"Alright, Blaze activated!" Ash cheered. Unfortunately, he winced from the effect of poison, and fell to the ground, anticlimactically defeated. "Oh." The trainer groaned in defeat.

"Oh, poor Pignite. He was just getting better." The blonde girl felt poor for the starter.

"Pignite is unable to battle! The winner is Whirlipede!"

"Pignite, return. You did great. We'll definitely try to use that more often." Switching Pokeballs, he shouted, "Pidove, I choose you!" To Burgh's surprise, he sent out a Tiny Pidgeon.

"Isn't your flying type a little under leveled?"

"We'll see about that. Ready?" Ash asked his bird Pokémon. She chirped confidently.

"In that case, use Poison Tail!" Its spikes glowing purple again, it began to roll out.

"Dodge, then Fury Cutter!" Ash retaliated. Barely dodging in between its spikes, Pidove crossed her wings now glowing, and launched a X that connected against the bug/poison type, exploding on contact. It rolled around a few seconds before falling to its side, defeated.

"Whirlipede is unable to battle! The winner is Pidove!"

"Alright Pidove!" Ash shouted in glee, but everyone was surprised when the bird started to glow, growing larger until it stopped, now looking like a bigger, more mature bird.

"Quill!" She chirped.

"Alright, you evolved into Tranquill!" The trainer congratulated his Pokémon.

"Could it be time to bug out of here? No, I refuse to be squashed! It's time for the guardian! Leavanny, let's go!" Burgh let out his ace. It was a thin, green and yellow bipedal insectoid Pokémon. To put it in the most basic terms, it was like a humanoid grasshopper with leaves for arms. "Use Leaf Blade!" Its arms glowing neon green, he lunged at surprising speed and dealt a critical blow against the flying type, whom chirped in extreme pain as she was slashed across her chest before she could even move.

"What?! But Leavanny are too weak to learn that move at this kind of level." Cheren gasped in shock. Bianca turned to him then back to Ash worried.

"No!" Ash yelled.

"Yes indeed! Now use X-Scissor!" Crossing its arms so that they glowed neon blue she pounced, but Ash was ready this time.

"Detect!" Her eyes shining, she just barely evaded the attack of the faster Pokémon.

"What?!" Burgh gasped.

"Now use Air Cutter!" Crossing her arms again, she formed her own X and fired, striking the bug/grass type's back for extreme damage. It screamed until it fell on its front, defeated.

"Leavanny is unable to battle! The winner is Tranquill, and the victor goes to Ash!" The referee shouted.

"Ash, you're the best!" Bianca cheered. Cheren pushed his glasses up with a grin.

"Yes, we did it!" Ash celebrated, running to hug his bird, whom looked happy.

"Oh, has my muse abandoned me?" Burgh bemoaned. "It appears so. Leavanny, return. Your best was absolutely spectacular. Ash, your act was astonishingly amazing."

"Thanks Burgh. You're quite something."

"Yes. Even though I lost, it doesn't bug me because I'm also amazingly strong. But enough about me, here's your badge." The trainer was given the Insect Badge, a green wing of an insect with gilded metal creating outlines.

"Wow, Ash is so strong!" Bianca sighed dreamily, loving how her boyfriend was such a winner in more than one meaning.

"Yes, he won...but he had quite the difficulty doing so." Cheren pointed out, confusing the girl. "While he was a challenge, I beat both his dwebble and whirlipede with Dewott alone, and used Tranquil to finish off his Leavanny as well. Which means I'm still the better trainer than him."

"Cheren, that's just part of the fun. We don't need to treat it like an actual score or anything."

"Perhaps, but with Ash still lagging behind like this, my path to become champion is clear." Bianca looked at him with a concerned expression, finally seeing that something was wrong with how he viewed his goal, even if the depth eluded her.


	7. Nimbasa City

"Ash! Ash, wake up!" The trainer jolted awake when he heard Bianca banging on his door early in the morning. He quickly went to unlock it and as soon as he opened it Bianca was in his arms, sobbing as she collapsed into him in her green pajamas with lemons dotting the outfit.

"Bianca, what's wrong?! He tried asking her, but she was too much of an incoherent mess to really get anything out of her, but he did see her holding a piece of paper, so he led her to the bed to cry herself emotions out while he took and read the note.

Ash, Bianca.

I'm sorry it has to be like this. After watching you struggle against Burgh like that when I had an easier time, I realized that you guys were slowing me down with your inability to keep up to my skill and sentimentality. Don't worry, I still consider you two to be my best friends, but from now on I'm on my own. Don't come looking for me, for I'll have already passed the desert resort already with new Pokémon. We may meet every so often, but I won't let anything stand between me and my goal of becoming champion. I'll even catch every Pokémon for the Pokedex as well for even more notoriety. It's better this way for the both of us, since I'll likely just be a third wheel with you guys. Take care.

"What the hell?" Ash asked, dumbfounded by his friend's lone wolf course of action. He already knew he was borderline obsessed, but this was just inexcusable. Crumpling the paper, he stood up and started preparing himself.

"A-Ash? Wh-what are y-you doing?" The distraught girl asked, confused by his serious behavior.

"We're going to get Cheren and talk some sense into him."

"But h-how? He's already far ahead of us."

"He didn't have that much time since he left while we were sleeping. Since he's on the same path as us, it's just a matter of traveling faster than him. After checking his Pokedex, he even noticed that it showed activity last night. "Dang it, he even used our Pokedexes! Probably transferred all our combined data into his so he'd have the most entries. Get ready Bianca, for we're going on some friend hunting."

After they got their stuff ready, Ash was just about to leave the Pokémon Center when he literally bumped into Burgh.

"Oh! My humblest apologies, Ash. Good morning. Say, you looked pretty miffed about something. Something problematic?" He asked with a yawn.

"Yeah, our friend ditched us. His note said we were slowing him down so he's going to try and become Pokémon Champion without us." The trainer answered darkly.

"How terrible! You must fetch him! I'm the best guy to tell you, it's the little things that count."

"That's what I tried telling him, but he's focused on being as strong as he can be. We need to stop him and knock some sense to him."

"Well, here's a helpful hint. I noted his surprise about my Leavanny knowing Leaf Blade and X-scissor, and the thing is I used TM's. Given that bugs aren't the most powerful type, arguably the weakest of the type table but that doesn't matter to me. The point is, my team needs to adaptable with each challenge, and if I can see how they battle, I can plan accordingly.

"So he beat you at a tougher level" Bianca inquired.

"Marginally, but yes. Now go, don't me hold you up. Find your friend. Also look for the department store on Route 9, you can't miss it."

"Thank you so much. Goodbye." The blonde girl said before they left. As they were leaving the city, thus allowing Bianca to no longer need to wear her headphones, she turned to her boyfriend.

"Ash?"

"Yes?" His eyes shifted to her. Her hands started to twirl and her head began to shake around, letting her hair flap around.

"I'm scared for Cheren. I don't know why he's doing this, and the fact he thinks we're weak is really demoralizing."

"I don't think it's that we're weak, but just that we're not up to his level yet. Know it all jerk." Ash grumbled.

"But...even if I never become as strong as you or Cheren or even fail at this Pokémon challenge, the best part is being with you guys. Ever since we left Nuvema Town, I've met a lot of people and experienced a lot of great things. I've also been thinking about what to do with my life. It's helping me figure out who I want to be since I've learned a whole lot of things."

"And have you figured that out yet?" He asked curiously.

"Not yet, but it's coming to me. I can just feel it." She answered. He smiled, so he took her hand causing her to stop shaking. She then leaned into him. "I'm so glad I'm having this adventure with you Ash. I love you so much."

"I love you too." Ash replied back wholeheartedly. It was just then that their Xtranciever started ringing. Answering, it was Professor Juniper.

"Hello there! Ash, Bianca where's Cheren? I'm trying to call him too but he's offline for some reason!"

"It's because he's abandoned us." Ash replied. She seemed horrified hearing this news.

"What?! Oh this is most terrible! Come meet me in the Relic Castle at the Desert Resort! It's west of Route 4! It's something important!"

"Alright. We'll meet you there!" Bianca agreed to before Ash hung up the call. While they walked through Route 4, they fought both a lot of trainers and caught several Pokémon. Ash caught a sandile, basically a small brown and black crocodile, and a scraggy, a yellow bipedal lizard like Pokémon with a big head with big eyes and visible upper teeth supported by a thin body. It appears to be constantly holding up loose yellow skin that look like trousers even leading to a tail. Bianca also caught a darumaka, a red round fire type creature with a smiley face and yellow markings on its body and tiny and legs, along with a maractus, a living cactus with maraca arms. But the most confusing of them all was when Ash caught a Sigilyph, something that looked like it was from mythology. Multi-colored, spherical, stringy wings and tail yet it still floated in the air, and had one eye at top.

Once they reached the relics, they spotted Professor Juniper with a female scientist looking person.

"Hello younglings. So sorry about Cheren. I hope things patch up between you guys." She expressed sympathetically.

"Thanks." Bianca said with a nod.

"Well, onto important business, meet a close friend of mine in the field of archeology, Dr. Sandra Hill." She wore a brown t-shirt and tan kakis along with a flashlight helmet. Her skin is tan and had dirty blonde hair put up in a low bun.

"Greetings Ash and Bianca. I hear that you two and another are working on completing the pokedex." Sandra stated, holding her arm out in greeting. They each shook her hand.

"That is correct. We're doing good so far."

"Well, here I found a couple of things you'll be very interested in." Sandra spoke with hype as she brought out two fossils. One looked like a turtle and the other something like a prehistoric chicken. "Fossils of the ancient past. Tirtouga and Archen."

"When we found them, the first thing that came to mind is if you wanted them." Juniper offered. "Back in Nacrene City is a lab where fossils can be brought back to life."

"That's so cool!" Bianca marveled. Juniper smiled.

"I figured you'd say that. So who wants what?"

"Bianca, how about you have Archen? I need something to balance out my team and I bet his Tranquill will easily beat Pansage."

"Alright, so you get Tirtouga then." The blonde girl agreed.

"Excellent. Now that that's done with, you may go on your journey, and maybe fine Cheren again. I'll send you your Pokémon once they're revived.

"Thank you Professor Juniper." Both teens thanked before leaving the relics, though before then Ash was able to catch a yamask as well, a living shadow with red eyes holding a golden mask with its tail. The Pokémon also floats in the air. The rest of the day from approximately 9 AM to approximately 6:30 PM was spent moving through the desert resort and route 4 until they finally reached their destination, the entertainment city of the region, Nimbasa City. Like Castelia before, the couple were amazed by the sights they saw. Unlike Castelia that looked like a metropolis for business and economics, this was a place for fun, leisure and no worries about anything except your budget for how much fun you can buy. There's a musical theater, a battle arena that was an actual miniature arena that looks like it's for hundreds of watchers, not tens of thousands. A sign says it's called the Battle Institute Arena, and it looks like sign ups are weekly. There also happens to be a couple of sport fields, a ferris wheel and a roller coaster. There's no sign of the gym but that's probably just hidden behind everything else.

"Wow! This is the best city ever! I want to ride them all!" She was about to run off but Ash grabbed her hand.

"Bianca, wait! As much as I want to do it all too, we don't have the time. We just need out gym badges, and then get back to finding Cheren."

"But Ash! I've always wanted to ride at least one of these!" But before they could argue for much longer, an old man cried out for help. They rushed to see that said old balding man in a brown shirt and red pants was being harassed by two Team Plasma knights.

"Alright gramps, we know you run the Pokémon day care! How do we know? Because we're Team Plasma!" The first knight boasted.

"It's our duty to liberate Pokémon from foolish humans!" The second one added. "Since you run the joint, you must have a bunch, especially in a city like this! Hand them over!"

"What kind of nonsense are you babbling about?!" The old man objected.

"Stop right there!" Ash yelled, distracting the knights, allowing the man to escape.

"Now, see what you did?! You've obstructed our mighty justice! Since you've interfered, we'll liberate your Pokémon too!"

"Bring it on!" Both the teenagers challenged. "Pignite, I choose you!/Come on out, Drilbur!"

"Watchog, go!/Trubbish, go!"

"Watchog, use Super Fang!" The first knight commanded.

"Trubbish, use Sludge!" The other ordered. While the normal type pounced for the attack, the Trash Bag Pokémon threw up dark brown gunk.

"Pignite, counter with Arm Thrust!/Drilbur, use Dig!" Bianca's Mole Pokémon dug underneath the ground, avoiding the sludge while Pignite effortlessly used his strength to punch Watchog's mouth shut before thrusting his arm into the normal type's side super hard. It wheezed before it was pushed back by the fire pig. Trubbish was in trouble, not sure where Drilbur went until he burst from the ground, attacking from underneath and sending it flying right back into the second knight. They were both defeated with one move.

"Ah! This went downhill fast! Run!" They were about to escape when two officers cut them off, letting their herdiers take them down.

"Oh, thank you young ones!" The old man said to them from behind, having watched the whole thing. "You sure saved my keister."

"Aw shucks, it's nothing." Ash shrugged. Bianca smiled from his modesty.

"No, I mean it. Follow me." Wondering what this was for, they followed the man to his house, and to the side was what looked like a new red bike, shining bright and ready to go. The man frowned upon seeing it. "I bought that for my wife so we could ride together, but she passed before we got the chance."

"Oh, I'm so sorry." Bianca said in an empathetic tone, looking sad. He gently smiled from her words.

"It's okay. I didn't want to scrap it, and yet I don't have room for it. So I figure you youngin's have earned it. What do you say?"

"Oh, this will help us so much mister. Thank you." Ash said with extreme gratefulness.

"I'm glad I could be of help. Oh, and be sure to ride one of the rides first. They're a must do for first timers." He suggested.

"Oh yes! We definitely will! Thanks again!" Bianca cheered before Ash could say anything and pulled him towards the amusement park.

"Bianca, we have a mission! We have to find Cheren!" Ash complained with concern. Bianca turned to him.

"I know Ash, I'm concerned for him too! But he can handle himself and besides, what's the harm in having fun for at least half an hour? Please Ash, pleeeeeaaase?" She pouted, making a form of puppy eyes. Ash groaned. She rarely had to pull that move, but that just made it more effective.

"Ugh, fine. We at least got a new bike so what's half an hour?"

"Yay! Thank you so much Ash! Let's go on the roller coaster!" Pulling him by the arm, the couple went to the amusement park and got in line of the roller coaster. It was called the "Thunder Rider" After paying, they sat at the front row. Their clipped their safety belts and a padded safety bar was lowered down to their laps.

"Let's sit on our hats so that they don't fly off." Ash suggested, and she nodded in agreement and removed their hats to sit on them.

"Thank you for riding the Thunder Rider." The person at the controls spoke into a speaker, his voice echoing through the station hall. "Please keep your arms and hands within the cars at all times except straight up if you wish. Enjoy the ride." Everyone behind the couple cheered as the train started to move up the hill.

"Oh man, isn't this exciting?!" Bianca asked her boyfriend, extreme joy in her eyes.

"I don't know. How is this exciting for you? We've never been this high-up before, or gone as fast as we're going to now." Ash inquired, not sure if the tension in his chest was good or not.

"Oh don't be a baby! Oh, here's the slope!" Once they reached the top, the several seconds they looked around the sights were breath taking. They could see the entire city, even the gym in the far Northwest. But once the head car started facing downwards, they went from excited or nervous to outright horrified. "Oh sh-" Bianca didn't get to finish her curse as everyone screamed, plummeting to the bottom before riding into a rising right bank, pushing them into the left of their seats. They fell again after that only to go into a left back going almost horizontal while they entered a short tunnel. They were able to get a few short breaths going up a hill until they went down again into another right bank that went a whole downward 360 degrees before going onto a rising left back that sloped down for a few seconds. And then they went up another smaller hill before falling downwards again that entered an actual loop-de-loop. After a few more turns and rises and falls, and after the final right bank, they returned to the station, slowly pulling up. Despite the ride lasting about 1 minute and 50 seconds, they thought it felt like an eternity has already passed. Both were shaking from experiencing something so extreme. They slowly turned to each other, their eyes dilated and their faces pale, it took a few seconds before smiles crept up their faces.

"Heh. Hehe. HehehehahahaHAHAHA!" Both started to laugh into a riot, having actually enjoyed the rollercoaster despite feeling like a near death experience. Once they got off and put on their mushed hats, they carefully walked away from the ride, holding a guard railing so they didn't fall over.

"That...was...AWESOME!" Bianca celebrated, jumping up and down. "That was way more than anything I could've ever thought I'd experience! It was like, whoosh, zoom, she-blam! What did you think Ash?! Ash?" She looked over him to see that instead of excited or thrilled, he kept his face away with a big blush.

"Uh...Bianca? Your..." He pointed downward, so she did so. Turns out the ride was so extreme, her breasts slipped from under her bra and were bouncing without her noticing since she just went through a rollercoaster. Yelping in surprise, she ran and hugged herself tight against Ash, making him even blush even more. "Uh, uhh...Bianca, this isn't hel-"

"Can we just walk to the bathroom please?" She begged, not wanting to talk about it while she was mortified. Nodding, they awkwardly side walked to the bathroom, and Ash patiently waited for his friend to... readjust herself. Once she left, they looked at each other for a second before looking away, like they were nude.

"Sooooo...want to just-"

"Ash, do you like my boobs?" Bianca asked quickly, cutting her boyfriend off. He sputtered in shock.

"Wha-wha-what?"

"Ash, my autism has made me exceptionally observant of my environment. Even though you try to be discreet, I can tell when you look at them. Even I know, despite my autism, that boys like boobs, and most to a sexist degree. But what I want to know is...do you like them? Be honest with me, please." She requested, looking completely serious. Never once has he lied to his friend. While that unfortunately meant that Bianca was terrible at detecting lies when anyone else lied , it at least meant that she believed that if she needed an honest opinion, she always went to either or mom, or him if she wasn't available. Figuring why start dishonesty now, he sighed.

"The truth is...I do. Whenever we hug, whenever I see your straps or the edges of your cups, I get excited. I try to keep myself under control because I respect you. I didn't want to do anything that would damage or even ruin our relationship." Closing his eyes, he waited for her to slap him or yell at him or something, only for her to kiss his cheek. His eyes opened to see a smiling Bianca and teary eyes. "Bianca."

"Oh thank goodness. With how little you showed interest I thought my body wasn't attractive to you. I mean, when I was told what puberty was, how was I supposed to think that I'd have orbs of fat bulging and bouncing around my chest? I mean, at first thought it was gross!" She grabbed and shook her own bosom around to aggravate her point. "But like when you said you weren't opposed to dating me, I can see now that you like me both personally and physically. Oh Ash!" She hugged him while laughing, and Ash couldn't help but giggle too. She tightened her hug around his body, squishing her boobs into his chest. Then she moved her mouth close to his ear and whispered, "Anytime you'd like to touch them or squeeze me good with a hug, don't hesitate, okay?" She felt him quiver from the idea and heard him gulp, resulting in her giggling.

"O-okay." He agreed with a slow nod. She grinned as she separated from the hug and led him to the next attraction. After getting a shaved ice flavored with pineapple along with Ash pulling their new bike along with them, this was a fun evening despite Cheren not being with them. That is until N approached them, wearing a white dragon face painting, and carried a cone of blue cotton candy and a balloon saying 'I 💖 Nimbasa'.

"Ash Ketchum. So we meet again. Enjoying your time?" He asked, his eyes and smile now looking unnatural with the white face paint, creeping the couple out and putting them more on guard despite his carnival festive look. "So I hear your hunting Team Plasma, yes? Because they took your Patrat?" He asked, surprising the teens that he knew that information.

"How do you know?" Ash inquired.

"Come with me." N instead said as he turned the other direction, prompting the two to follow him. Something that they noticed is that unlike everything else, the Ferris Wheel had no line, ready to accept anyone at the bottom. This felt...wrong. "I love the Ferris Wheel. The circular motion, the mechanics...they're like collections of elegant formulas." As they passed the person who worked at the controls, they spotted that the person had a Team Plasma patch on his shirt, smirking that they discovered they were in a trap. Gulping, they looked around and spotted a couple sitting at a bench, staring at them with nods that yes, they were surrounded. "Please, join me." N requested. Seeing as they had no choice, they stepped into the car followed by N. Once the wheel started to turn, the three teenagers sat in uncomfortable silence until they stopped at the peak, nowhere to go. Taking a piece of cotton candy and plopping it into his mouth, the green haired boy began to speak. "I must tell you-mm! This Cotton Candy is tasty! Want some?" He asked, offering some of his treat to them, mostly to Ash, but they shook their head. "Huh, okay then. More for me then." As he continued to eat the cotton candy like he hadn't just abducted two Pokémon trainers, he finally got back on track. "Ah, so good. As I was saying, I must tell you something. Are you familiar with the legend of Unova's founding?" After they shook their heads, he looked down in contemplation.

"The truth is this. There was a white dragon. This white dragon appeared before the hero who sought the true way to knit together a world full of warring people. This white dragon Pokémon shared its knowledge, and bared its fangs at those who stood against it. Together, the power of this Pokémon and the hero brought unity to the hearts of everyone in the land, and that is how Unova was created."

"You mentioned something about a hero...in Nacrene City." Ash remembered. "Is this white dragon...Reshiram?"

"Yes. Here's another piece of truth. I am the king of Team Plasma." They gasped together upon this disclosure. "Ghetsis asked me to work for him to save the Pokémon. I wonder how many Pokémon exist in this world? A thousand? A million? New species are being discovered on a consistent basis." The cabin jerked as they started moving down the wheel again. "It seems our time is up. There's just one final thing I need to say. The world is not just about truth though. There's also ideals, about what we think things should be even if they're not true. I see what Pokémon trainers as they really are. Slave masters. But you hold the ideal that we are equal on the level of Pokémon and that we're friends on that kind of level already. What you said in Accumula Town and Nacrene City...you are truly fascinating Ash. Which is why I want to battle you again." Taking the last bite of his cotton candy before throwing the cone away, he stepped out and let his balloon go, letting it float into the endless sky. Ash and Bianca got out as well, various knights surrounding them. "The future I envision...perhaps I can't beat you now, but I'll learn more about you with this duel. You can't refuse."

"Since I have no choice..." Ash grumbled, taking out a Pokeball.

"Ash?" She asked, worried.

"Have no fear, girl. Neither of you shall be harmed I just want to learn more about Ash."

"If it's a battle you want, it's a battle you'll get." The trainer issued, ready for the challenge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Seems like a good stopping point here. So, what did you think? Thinking about Cheren's goal seemed a bit lacking of...substance. Like, why does he want to just because in the games? I know it's to be strong or whatever but that's a reason anybody could have if they just felt like it. Boring. So, to make up for his weak reason for wanting to become the champion, I decided to make him a totally obsessed rival because his strength feeds into his ego, making him arrogant. Think of it like a Sasuke and Naruto scenario, just not as edgy. I hope that conversation between Ash and Bianca wasn't unwelcome to any of you. I'm just trying to explore the romantic options of what I'm envisioning here and help them learn how to be in a romantic couple in an organic way. Did it work? Let me know in the reviews below.


	8. A Shocking Reconciliation

N was the first to send out his Pokémon, silently showing he had a sandile.

"Pansage, I choose you!" Ash summoned his Grass Monkey Pokémon, whom started saying its name while beating on its chest. With just a knowing smile, N's Desert Croc Pokémon used a move that not only caused the ground below Pansage to swirl around him, but even cave in downward, making him yelp in surprise as he took damage from said attack. "Pansage, use Vine Whip to escape!" Ash ordered. From the grass type's tuft on the top of his head, vines sprouted out that grabbed onto a tree branch, and pulled himself out of the sand pit, now swinging on said branch. Taking a breath in, the ground/dark type spat out wet dirt as to use Mud Slap.

"Seed Bomb!" Ash yelled. Like Sandile, Pansage opened his mouth to fire glowing seeds that exploded upon contact with the mud, countering it. In fact, it was even overcoming the attack since Ash's Pokémon was much stronger. Finally reaching the scared Sandile, the attacks exploded against the Sandile, blown back onto its back, defeated in one blow. Pansage howled in triumph as he jumped back down to the ground. However, the Sant Tomb effect was still active as sand swirled around him, hurting him somewhat. N returned his Pokémon and sent a darumaka.

"Pansage, return." Ash withdrew his Grass Monkey. "Good job. Pignite, I choose you!" As soon as Ash let his starter out, the Zen Charm Pokémon ran forwards with it's forehead prominent, going to use headbutt. "Counter with Rollout!" Going into a run as well before jumping forward to roll like a ball, he sped towards the smaller red Pokémon and the both smacked into each other with a loud smack. Darumaka was surprisingly strong, as it was able to stall the heavier Pignite for a few seconds before the Fire Pig's mass overcame the opposing fire type, rolling over it. It wheezed in pain from being rolled over. As it tried to get up, it was unable to either get out of the way or counter against the still rolling Pignite and was plowed right into, flying into a tree, knocked out. Pignite stopped rolling and landed on his feet, satisfied. "Well done, Pignite!" The way he looked proud from the compliment made N's smile disappear. N's third Pokémon was Scraggy. Immediately, it crossed its arms and glared at Pignite, intimidating him before his eyes glowed red. The Fire Pig Pokémon started to stumble around in confusion.

"That's Swagger." Bianca realized.

"Use Flame Charge!" Ash instructed anyway. Surrounding himself in flame, he sprinted in a random direction, missing Scraggy completely and running into a tree, injuring himself as he grunted from the impact. Leaping at the fire type, the Shedding Pokémon delivered a strong Karate Chop against his back, making Pignite squeal in pain.

"Counter with Arm Thrust!" Knowing where he is just now, he thrust his elbow back into Scraggy's head, disorienting the fighting/dark type. Turning around, Pignite delivered a critical blow against the exact center of Scraggy's face, practically punching the Pokémon down, knocked out now.

"Way to go Pignite!" Bianca cheered. Returning his fallen friend, he finally sent out his current ace, Sigilyph. Shaking off his confusion, Pignite turned to the psychic/flying type.

"Flame Charge!" Ash commanded, now filled with confidence. Producing more fire, he went even faster, bashing into the initially faster Pokémon. With a glare, N gave the silent instruction to use Tailwind, blowing around around everyone involved making a cyclone. "Again!" Ash said. Pignite tried to hit the Avianoid Pokémon, but it got out of the way rather easily despite the fire type having the speed advantage just a second ago. Crossing its wings, it sent out a bright blue X that exploded upon contact with the Fire Pig Pokémon, making him howl in hurt. Ash started to sweat, for he didn't know if Pignite could survive a back and forth of this kind. Looking at the tailwind surrounding them, then at his fire type, a brilliant strategy came into mind. "Pignite, use Flame Charge in the tailwind!" Nodding, trusting his master, the Fire Pig Pokémon created even more fire around himself, and zoomed around the cyclone, rushing as fast as he could.

"What are you thinking?" N questioned, curious what this was for.

"You'll see. Flame Charge!" Pignite ran faster and faster with each passing second, and it was becoming evident as his fire became a ring around the trainers, and it quickly developed into a fire cyclone. At this point, Pignite was lost in the flame, so nobody could see where it was at any moment. With a grunt, his eyes glinted towards the Avianoid Pokemon, whom obeyed by blowing intense wind like a Whirlwind, blowing the fire away, but by then, it was too late.

"Flame Charge!" Ash commanded, and like a flaming cannonball, Pignite blitzed the flying/psychic type, ramming into it with such strength that the two shot past N and smashed through several trees before stopping. With a huff of fire, Pignite stood above the destroyed foe.

"Yes! We won Ash! You're so cool Pignite!" Bianca cheered. The Fire Pig quickly went back to Ash and they hugged in celebration, before Ash had to back away in pain since Pignite was really hot. At a loss for words, N returned his Pokemon and turned to this fascinating person.

"Who are you? You're not like any other trainer." N asked, stupefied by his display of ingenuity. They turned to him. "You're quite strong. But I have a future I must change. And for that future, I must defeat the champion and become unbeatable, unlike any other.

"Nobody's unbeatable. Not even that lady, uh...Cindy, I think, from Sinnoh." Ash said, standing up to stare down the Plasma King in the eyes, fully determined.

"But unlike all the champions, I'm going to be the new hero, and I'll make every trainer free their Pokemon. Just try and stop me." All his lackies came to him and threw down several smoke bombs, and when it cleared they disappeared.

"Damn." Ash muttered, now having a new goal.

"What do we do now?" Bianca asked.

"Now? We train. Let's go to the Pokémon Center. so I can heal up." He answered. Returning his Pignite, they walked through the city, that is until a voice called out to them.

"Bianca, there you are!" They jolted from the unexpected shout and turned to see it was Bianca's father!

"Daddy?! What are you doing here? Are you and mom on a date here?"

"No, I've come to take you home, where it's safe. With all this Team Plasma stuff happening, I can't sit on the sidelines anymore." Bianca looked distraught now and complained.

"I don't want to go home! I'm going to keep traveling with Ash, whom is my boyfriend now!" She hugged him to prove her point, sending her father into a rage.

"You're in a relationship?! Why didn't you consult me?!"

"I don't have to tell you everything, Dad! I'm independent now, and it's my choice to be with my boyfriend! So just go home to mom!" The blonde girl shot back. Mr. Schroeder stepped up to his daughter.

"Absolutely not! You're not ready to explore the world! Your autism makes you gullible and naive!"

"That's why I have Ash to help me! He's been more help for me ever since I've left than you have my whole life!" Ash was really becoming uncomfortable being almost literally in between a family dispute.

"He's been more helpful?! Who gives you a roof to sleep under?! Who gives you a bed to sleep on?! Who provides you with education so you're smart?!"

"But you don't bother to understand me! Mom and Ash and Cheren and Juniper helped me grow as a person! What gives you the right to tell me how I live my own life?!"

"I have the right because I'm your father! You know what, why are we arguing about this, I'm dragging you home if I have too!" He took her wrist and tried to pull her away.

"No, I don't want to!"

"Let go of Ash!" As the two screamed at each other, Ash used his free hand to grab onto a lamp post so that he was anchored onto something. "This is what's best for you Bianca! I do this because I love you!" At that Bianca kicked at her dad's knee, causing him to yelp in pain as he buckled to the floor.

"You never let me do anything I want! I-I HATE YOU!" Bianca screeched, causing her dad to pause.

"What?" He gasped, shocked by this.

"I hate you dad! You're so mean! You never took the time to understand me! You try to protect me but that only makes me feel miserable! Why can't you treat me like a person instead of some fragile freak!" Once she said all that she had to say, Bianca just stood their like a frenzied animal before realizing what just happened. Seeing her father on the ground clutching his knee and Ash freaked out by her outburst, along with an audience that watched some if not the whole thing, keeping his distance, the girl just broke down and fell to her knees, unable to keep her pent up feelings in and cried. Ash got over his moment and stooped down to her, holding her close in an embrace.

"What have I done?" Mr. Schroeder asked himself.

"Indeed, what have you done exactly, mister." A flat toned voice asked him. All but Bianca turned to see the gym leader of the city. Her hair is short and bright blonde, and she wore yellow and black clothes in a way she looked like a supermodel, along with headphones with super long cords going down to her mid-calves.

"Wow, that's Elesa Parker." One of them said.

"Do tell, why are you causing such a ruckus in my city's amusement park, mister?" Even though her voice was flat of emotion, her eyes staring down at him

"The name is Darius Schroeder, lady." He grunted as he got up to his feet, testing his knee. "I've come to take her home because it's getting too dangerous for my baby girl. She has autism, and I wanted to protect her." Darius explained himself.

"Really?" She asked, not impressed at all. Her face was practically unreadable from her stonewall face and indistinguishable voice. "So you think holding your daughter at home against her will is the right option, like her opinion doesn't matter?"

"Uh...well..." He didn't know how to respond without seeming like the bad guy. "I-I'm just a concerned father who worries for his baby girl, you know?"

"I wouldn't know. My father abused me as a kid because I didn't do what he wanted me to do, even though I have a disorder too." That shut him down right away. Elesa walked past him and stooped down to Bianca, whom was still crying. "Hey there. Can you answer me?" Bianca was able to look up, her face soggy with tears and snot running down her nose, but she was responsive. "What's your name?"

"Bi-Bianca." The girl replied. Elesa smiled in the slightest.

"Bianca. Nice name. Let me tell you something. I have an emotional disorder. My disorder is alexithymia, meaning that I'm my emotions are nearly non-existent. My father wanted me to follow in his footsteps in becoming an actress as he became older, but I could never put in the effort he wanted. He never hit me, but he called me many things. Useless, good for nothing, other things. But my grandmother helped me through my childhood, and helped learn what I really wanted to do: modeling. Dad had a tough time accepting it, but he did eventually learn to accept my job and my disability as who I am. He even accepted that I have a girlfriend, even if that took the longest to accept." Standing up, she spoke to the crowd, striking a pose without meaning to. "There's many people in this world. People whose way of thinking can either be identical or opposite to ours. And sometimes, that means you get hurt along the way. But what is important is to keep trying, to learn about the differences between each of us, between other people. To learn that being different is okay, and that others shouldn't have to worry about you. In this case, trainers will always have Pokémon by their side. And friends to accompany them if they so choose. To really grow as people, whether it's a father and a daughter, or a mother and a son, you have to trust they can do things on their own, depending on their own skills and help." Now Elesa turned to Darius. "Mr. Schroeder, if you're still not convinced, then watch Bianca battle me for her gym badge."

"Da-daddy? Please?" Bianca sobbed, her face looking conflicted and desperate. Feeling guilty about always being the one person in his town making her sad her whole life, he relented.

"Alright. I'll watch."

"Good." The gym leader nodded. Turning to Bianca, she asked the girl, "What do you understand of your journey, Bianca?" Wiping away her tears and snot, she stood up and looked at her father.

"I know there's gonna be painful stuff like you're worrying about. I know, and I get it. After all, Cheren did leave us." Her dad gasped from that. "But, like, listen... There'll be tons of nice people, too. Know what else? Since I've been traveling with Ash and training with Pokémon, I've already gotten tougher. I have three badges anyway, so if I beat Elesa, than this will be my forth, and I'll be halfway there."

"Follow me. Let's get this show on the road." Elesa suggested as she started walking to the gym, along with everyone else. Ash just noticed that Elesa was quite tall for a woman now that he was walking just behind her to her left, her head being literally a head taller than he was, a 16 year old boy. She had to be just reaching 6 feet exact at the tallest. Interesting.

Once Ash was in the gym, it was quite interesting to be in. The inside was like the walls of a laser tag set with colorful neon lights and techno music playing through the speakers. A female amusement park worker acted as referee.

"Prepare yourself for an electrifying match between our illustrious gym leader, glistening with beauty as bright as the sun! Our very own gym leader, Elesa Parker! While in the challenger spot is Bianca Schroeder from Nuvema Town! This will be a four on four matchup, and the battle will be over when all four Pokémon on the field are unable to continue! Only the challenger may substitute Pokémon! Begin the battle now!"

"Go, Tynamo." Elesa said, summoning a cute little electric white fish that floated in the air.

"Aww, that's so cute!" Bianca gushed in excitement. "Come on out, Servine!" Throwing her Pokeball after a windmill spin of her arm, came her grass starter.

"Tynamo, Thunderwave." Elesa said as an order. Tynamo began to spark before firing a zap of electricity that hit Servine, paralyzing her.

"No, Servine!" Use Leaf Tornado!" Even in her weakened state, she was able to jump and spin on her nose, creating a tornado made of leaves. Despite being faster, the electric fish was caught up and damaged by the barrage of leaves, though it did manage to recover well enough. ("Ohhh, what do I do? There's no way she'll allow the same trick twice. What would Ash do?" Looking over to Ash, whom had his arms crossed and stared at her in a way that just stoicly said, 'You can do this.' ("Right, I can do this! If something seems insurmountable, then just make yourself bigger than the obstacle!") "Servine, use Growth!" Looking up at the lights, the Grass Snake Pokémon closed her eyes and let the light fill her with energy, letting her power grow.

"Charge Beam." Elesa said. Tynamo's body began to surround with yellow sparks, before firing a blast of lightning that hit the grass type Pokémon, shocking her and making her hiss in pain.

"Keep it up!" Bianca pleaded, so Servine did.

"Again." And so it went on for several turns like this.

"What is she doing? She's going to obviously lose at this rate." Darius grumbled.

"Don't be too sure." By the time the forth Charge Beam hit the grass starter, she appeared to be done for.

"What are you planning? With your Servine paralyzed it can't outpace my Tynamo." The gym leader said cooly, but Bianca grinned instead.

"I don't need to be faster, I just need to overpower you! Leaf Tornado!" Once she began to spin on her nose, she created a gigantic Leaf Tornado, one that which enveloped the entire field! Everyone screamed from such a display of power. Even Elesa herself couldn't contain the sheer shock she was experiencing, while her poor Tynamo couldn't escape and was swallowed up by the tornado of leaves, lasting a few more seconds before the move ended, a shower of leaves covering the field, the audience, and the trainers. After a few seconds comprehending what just happened, they everyone cheered from seeing something so amazing.

"Wha-How did she do that?" Her dad asked stupefied.

"She trusted her Pokemon, and took a page from my book." Ash chuckled, recognizing something he himself uses.

"ty-Tynamo is unable to battle! The wi-winner is Servine!" The referee panted, having to jump out of the way or else be swept up by the attack.

"Tynamo return. Bianca, I must admit this. I'm almost incapable of feeling my emotions. But what you did left me more shocked and impressed than anything before in my whole life." Elesa remarked, her eyes wide and a real smile considered normal on her face.

"Thank you! It means so much coming from you!" The blonde trainer said, a huge smile on her face. Elesa's disappeared as the extreme high wore off.

"But, your luck has run out. Emolga, go." Of the Pikachu clones, this one was Emolga, a flying squirrel variant with a black back and tail, yellow wings in the inner side, and a white face and body with yellow dots for cheeks. "Use Aerial Ace." While the Sky Squirrel Pokémon zoomed at Servine with white energy streaks, Bianca blurted,

"Hide in the leaves!" Obeying, she slithered into the many, many leaves, just as Emolga was on her, missing by inches. Noticing some hunching and zapping from a spot, Elesa ordered,

"Aerial Ace." Taking another shot, she ploughed threw the leaves, but didn't ram into a Grass Snake.

"Gotcha! Leaf Tornado!" The leaves littering the place started to swirl around, catching the electric flying type by surprise as she was snagged into another arena spanning tornado of leaves. Even with her resistance against grass type Pokémon this was seriously hurting her. This time, Elesa kept her composure and was ready.

"Get to the center and use Aerial Ace." Navigating through the leaves, she managed to get to the middle of the green storm, finding the spinning Servine. Divebombing, she slammed into the grass starter's back, slamming her into the ground and thus disrupting the attack, resulting in even more leaves falling. Emolga picked up Servine and threw her down on the leaves, defeated.

"Servine is unable to battle! The winner is Emolga!" The referee declared. The audience cheered once again.

"Oh, and she was doing so well." Darius bemoaned.

"She's just getting started" Ash said.

"Servine, return. You did awesome. Take a well earned rest. I know just how to deal with you! Come on out, Drilbur!" Now on the leafy field was her trained Mole Pokémon.

"Typical. Aerial Ace." The gym leader sighed, prompting the electric flying type to go on the attack.

"Dig with Dodge! No-wait!" Even though she confused her words, Dig was all he needed to hear before jumping into the leaves, evading the flying attack.

"You do realize that ground type attacks are useless against flying types, right? I've defeated a many ground types because my Pokemon are well adapted for such a type." Elesa explained, but Bianca ignored her.

"Use Hone Claws!" Although, since Drilbur was underground, nobody saw what happened. "Now use Slash!" Bursting from the ground right behind the Sky Squirrel Pokemon, she only had time to looked shocked before being slashed across the back by Drilbur's sharp claws, screaming in pain before fainting onto her front.

"Emogla is unable to battle! The winner is Drilbur!"

"Yeah, way to go Drilbur! Just because you've beaten them doesn't mean you can't be beaten period." Bianca smugly pointed out.

"So it seems." The gym leader acknowledged as she returned her Pokémon. "Time to get rid of the leaves. "Zebstrika, use Flame Charge on the field." A fully grown eclectic zebra named Zebstrika, whom produced flame and ran around the field for one lap, burning the leaves and creating a fire ring around the two Pokémon.

"Quick, use Dig again!"

"Flame Charge." Before the Mole Pokemon could burrow his way underground, he was run over by a flaming lightning horse, howling in agony before falling onto his back.

"Dig!" Bianca pleaded. Since Zebstrika just attacked, he was able to go into the ground again.

"Use Flame Charge. Become untouchable." She instructed stoicly, so he started running around, constantly gaining more and more speed as he sprinted. But even this did not deter her.

"Dig through the ground, but don't surface above it!" The girl commanded, confusing the gym leader and everyone else but Ash.

"But how can Drilbur attack without exposing himself?"

"If someone has a field advantage, take it away if you can." Ash simply stated. From the combination of the hooves beating against the ground at faster speeds and stronger force, along with the fire heating the ground, all those factors caused the field to cave, the electric type yelping as he fell into a wide pit, again surprising Elesa, if not as much. "Attack!" From the ground, Drilbur went on the offense with a smile, unlike the fearful Zebstrika before being struck by the tiny mole. Landing on the ground on all fours, he waited a few seconds before the electric type fell.

"Zebstrika is unable to battle. The winner is Drilbur!"

"Yeah, Bianca! Beat her!" Darius cheered, before realizing what he said, making Ash chuckle.

"So, what do you have next, Elesa?" Bianca challenged the gym leader whom returned her ace. But Elesa shook her head.

"Zebstrika is my ace. And you've beaten him. My next Pokémon won't beat your particular Drilbur. I forfeit." The entire audience gasped. She's never surrendered before to a challenger.

"Uh...Elesa has forfeit the match, so the victor goes to Drilbur and Bianca."

"Yes! Come here Drilbur!" She laughed as she hugged her Mole Pokémon.

"She really did it." Her dad said to himself, a tear slipping down his cheek, and a smile on his face. As the two women met up close on the side of the field, both of them were smiling.

"That was quite a dramatic battle you gave me. Full of flair and peril. You're a great trainer."

"Thank you Elesa." Bianca nodded, feeling overjoyed about her victory.

"Here, the Bolt Badge." True to its name, the badge was a lightning bolt. Bianca turned to her dad and Ash whom walked up to them. Father and daughter were conflicted on what to say, fidgeting and unable to look one another in the eye, until Ash elbowed Darius.

"Bianca...I'm so sorry I made you feel so bad. I knew you didn't like my strictness, but I never wanted you to think you were a freak or cause you to hate me. I was just worried what the world would do to you. But after seeing that battle, I could see that you're not just my baby girl, but a proud and independent woman now. If you wish to travel with Ash, then I won't hold you back."

"Dad." Bianca uttered with tears growing in her eyes before the two awkwardly hugged.

"I love you Bianca."

"I know." She said. From the sidelines, Ash knew what that meant. While her dad finally understood her, it would take a long time to cover up years of resentment and trauma. But he also knew that now they could finally be close. Eventually, they'd have a proper father and daughter relationship.  
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A/N: So, was that whole drama thing between Bianca and her dad great or what? I've also had problems with my dad, so my past influenced this chapter to a degree. Don't get me wrong, I've never hated my dad, and we've actually been on good terms for years now, but yeah, our relationship was not the best ever during my childhood and adolescence. What do you guys think?


	9. Cameos Galore!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Just so you know, I'm replacing the battle subway part of the game with the Nimbasa Town tournament arc from the anime, so prepare to see some anime cameos. Also, their Pokémon will be scaled down to only being Pokémon in their mid to late 20's, since that's where Ash and Bianca are at now.

By tomorrow, late in the morning at around 11 AM, Bianca, her dad, Elesa and Ash met at the city limits to route 4, where Ash's girlfriend was saying goodbye to her dad for now.

"Wow, to think that I never have to worry about you-uh...at least to the extent I was going, it feels liberating. I could actually enjoy things to the extent I'm supposed to now. Thank you Bianca, for giving me another chance. Elesa here really helped open my eyes."

"I just told you what you needed to hear. Bianca's the one who showed you proof." Elesa corrected while shifting her eyes to the fellow blonde girl, slightly smiling.

"Well, you're very welcome dad." Bianca said. "And thank you Elesa. I'm so grateful to you."

"I guess it's time for me to go. I hope the rest of your journey is fun." Turning to Ash, he held out a hand going from a joyful to serious face. "You better take care of my little girl, alright?"

"Daddyyy!" Bianca complained, feeling embarrassed as she grabbed her hat and lowered her head, shaking it. Ash took his hand and gave a strong grip back.

"Will do sir." Ash accepted. Darius's face softened back into a smile.

"Good." Turning back to his daughter, he gave her another hug, which she embraced.

"I love you Bianca. I really do." He whispered, saying it as gently as he could.

"Yeah." Bianca returned, still not sure she could say it yet. Letting go of her, he went on his way.

"Well, Bon Voyage!" And so he left the city, leaving the couple and Elesa there. But Bianca gave out one final shout to him,

"Dad, I'll come home after I find out what I really wanted to do!"

"Has your father ever been a trainer? I'd like to think so but I'm not certain." The gym leader inquired.

"I'm not sure. He never says. But I once did find an old pokeball in his belongings once, though he took it away and hid it better.

"Than I'm sure of it than. Being a parent must be hard. Maybe we'll adopt a baby. Once we're ready." Elesa mused, thinking about her future.

"Elesa, thank you so much. My dad finally understands me. I want to be a totally cool woman like you!" Bianca complimented, bringing a small smile to her face.

"Thank you. My advice for that? Follow your heart, and trust in your friends, Pokémon..." Her head turned towards Ash. "...or friends." He smiled at that.

"Okay." The young teen agreed. Elesa nodded before remembering something.

"Oh yeah. Excuse me, there's something I need to do on Route 5." She walked past the couple, tending to some business. Now facing each other, Bianca screamed with joy and hugged her boyfriend very hastily, jumping up and down.

"Yay, Dad understands me! Dad understands me! Now I don't have to worry about going home after all this is over!"

"Hehe, that's great to hear." Ash chuckled, though he couldn't celebrate with her when she shook him with her hug like a salt shaker. Letting him go, she kissed him, wanting to convey how jolly she was feeling. Ash then hugged her back while they made out, everything feeling great. Once the kiss and hug was broke off, she then suggested,

"Let's go sign up to that battle arena tournament now!"

"But, what about Cheren?"

"Consider this extra training! That way you'll be much more able to beat him if we come across him! Plus, I'm on a really big confidence boost and I just wanna battle some people right now so come on pleeeeeease?" She begged, her puppy eyes back. Ash groaned.

"Alright, alright, you have a point." Ash conceded, making Bianca giddy with excitement.

"Yay! Let's go now!" Grabbing his wrist, she dragged him to the sign up table. After filling out the registration forms for the middle-weight class tournament, Ash and Bianca were signed up in a roster of 16 trainers. Ash gets to go first in the forth round at #8 while Bianca is #12. "Oh no. That means we'll be battling soon." The blonde girl whimpered as she shook her head and twirled her hands. He placed a hand on her shoulder, bringing her out of her current state.

"Doesn't matter where we fight. As long as one of us reaches to the top, right?" Ash inquired with a smile so confident even she couldn't resist doing so.

"Yeah."  
\------  
"And now we're at battle number four! Burgundy Myers vs. Ash Ketchum!" Walking onto the field, he gazed upon a girl similar to his age with shoulder length curly purple hair, and what he assumed was a... waiter outfit. Odd, but he shrugged.

"Hello Burgundy, let's give everyone a good show, alright?" He asked her showing good sportsmanship, but she scoffed at him.

"Please, I'll beat you in 5 seconds flat! Come on out, Herdier!" Upon seeing the dog, Ash smirked.

"Too easy. Sigilyph, I choose you!" Replacing his Tranquill was one of his newest catches, the Avionoid Pokémon that he swapped yesterday night. Herdier growled at it to intimidate it, but any fear was not recognized.

"Oh my, what an unusual creature! Certainly nothing ordinary about it at all!" Burgundy remarked.

"That's the best part. Fury Cutter!" Crossing its stringy wings, it unfolded them to unleash a bright blue X heading straight for the surprised Herdier, exploding upon contact.

"Hey, how rude to attack my Pokémon's well groomed fur before I was ready! Use Take Down!" Charging as fast as it could, the Loyal Dog Pokémon slammed into the flying/psychic type, knocking it back but not out. But she wasn't done yet. "Now use Thunder Fang!" His teeth crackling with sparks, he bit down on its tail, dealing massive damage. Ash growled, not expecting his Pokémon to take such serious damage so soon.

("Another TM user?! This tournament might be harder than I thought.") "Get it off with Psybeam!" Aiming down at the normal type, it shot a rainbow colored beam of energy that blasted the canine off, yelping in pain.

"Quick, use Ice Fang!" Burgundy ordered.

"Evade with Tailwind!" The girl's Herdier tried attack with neon blue energy bolts at the flying type, but it was able to dodge by flapping its wings and creating a cyclone with each flap, rustling up some mighty winds.

"Hey, my hair! Do you know how long it took to get it this exquisitely tasteful for today?" Burgundy complained.

"Should I care? Not only that, but my Pokémon's way faster now!" Looking around herself, he was right. The flying/psychic type was zipping around Herdier at speeds it was unused to fighting, futilely trying to keep visual eye contact. "Time to finish this. Psywave!" Its wings glowing like a rainbow, it flapped them hard to send waves of psychic energy that bombarded Herdier from all sides, overwhelming it until it fainted.

"Herdier is unable to battle! Sigilyph wins, and that means Ash wins the match!" The announcer declared.

"You did great Sigilyph." Ash complimented his companion, who hummed in appreciation.

"Yay, he did it! You did it Ash!" Bianca celebrated with her arms up.  
\---------------------------------------------------------  
"Ladies and gentleman, hang onto your seats, for its the sixth round! Trip Dunstan vs. Bianca Schroeder!" As she went onto the field and nearly tripped on a rock, she greeted her challenger.

"Hello! It's so nice to battle with you today! How are you doing?"

"Okay. I've come a long way. I'm sure our match will be interesting." He replied stoically to her cheerfulness.

"What will you do, Bianca? I can't wait to see." Ash whispered to himself, excited for what was to come.

"Come on out, Archie!" Like Ash, she's also using one of her newest Pokémon, one of the fossils that Professor Juniper helped revive for her. She nicknamed him Archie. He squawked while spreading his wings.

"Gurdurr, you're up!" Going up against her revived fossil is an evolved for of Timburr, more muscular than before and holding a red I-beam than a piece of wood. It slammed the I-beam into the ground, looking confident.

"Uh, alright Archie...um...even though I haven't thought about looking up your moves yet, just do what feels natural, alright?" She politely requested her Pokémon, whom looked at her confused. Ash slapped his forehead.

("She hasn't looked up what he does?")

"This is your first time using that thing? What a newb." Trip quipped, resulting in her feeling insulted.

"Excuse me?! I just earned my forth badge from Elesa herself! You better watch it! Archie, attack!" Even though he didn't know what to attack with, the First Bird Pokémon went on the offensive.

"Gurdurr, dodge it!" Trip ordered. Slamming its I-beam down on the ground, it pushed itself upwards out of the reckless attack from Archie. It chuckled like its foe stood no chance. Turning around, he tried again. "Counter with Rock Throw!" Grabbing into the arena with his free hand, he removed a piece of earth out of the ground and lobbed it at Archie, but the rock/flying type easily leapt over it. "Rock Smash!" Clenching his fist and making it glow bright orange, he punched Archie just as he got close, injuring the living fossil.

"No, Archie!" Bianca cried out.

"Come on Bianca, you can do this!" Ash shouted in confidence. Struggling to get up, it stared at the fighting type. "Use Stone Edge!" Creating stone out of middair, he launched them at Archie, intending to end this.

"Archie, try to defend!" The blonde trainer pleaded. His wings glowing red, he thrust them forward to create a red barrier, blocking all the rocks from reaching him.

"Quick Guard." Ash recognized.

"So your bird knows a defensive move. But it can't hold up forever. Dynamic Punch!" Its fist glowing like it just caught on fire, Gurdurr was going to give Archie one hell of a haymaker when Bianca yelled out,

"Dodge it, quickly!" And so he did, but not at just regular speed, but he even left an afterimage that the Muscular Pokémon passed through, overextending himself as it tried to recover, but felt he gave a loud roar as a sharp pain in its back as Archie pecked at his back. "Agility and Pluck!" Bianca laughed, her eyes wide open.

"Gurdurr, get it off of you!" The fighting type swung his I-beam around to try and hit the fossil bird, but he was already gone. Turning around, he only had enough time to see an orb of black and white energy heading right for him before it exploded on contact, creating a dust cloud.

"And Ancient Power to top things off! You're quite versatile, Archie!" The blonde girl praised.

"It's not over yet! Stone Edge!" Trip commanded. Swiping its I-beam to get rid of the dust, it once again formed stones that it fired at the First Bird Pokémon, but Bianca wasn't worried.

"Ancient Power!" Forming another orb of energy, Archie fired it from his mouth, and it seemed to deflect the stones away as it headed to the horrified Gurdurr before the attack exploded against it again. This time, when the smoke cleared, the fighting type was unconscious.

"Gurdurr is unable to battle! Archie wins, so that means Bianca wins the match!"

"Thank you so much Archie! I get to go to round two!" She rand and hugged her living fossil, whom chirped with glee. A flash disrupted her while she was hugging Archie, and looked up to see Trip has taken a photo of her. "What's that for?"

"I'm chronicling my journey. So that I never forget this defeat." He then walked away.

"Okay, bye! Thanks for the battle!" She yelled to him, unaware of the real reason he did so.

"And with Bianca as our winner, here's our round two contestants!" 8 people were shown, including Bianca and Ash, that are going to participate in the quarter finals. "After a one hour recess, we'll begin round 2!" Once the hour was up, and their respective Pokémon were healed, the show is about to begin again. "Round two is here! Watch as we shuffle the contestants around to see who's up next!"

"Wait, we're not fixed into positions?!" Bianca gasped.

"It's random. So there's...I think, a 25% chance that we'll face each other? I'm not sure about the math but at least we can last a little bit longer if we're lucky." Ash mentioned, shrugging.

"Oh yay! Then let's do our best as always!" She cheered as she hugged her boyfriend. Once the photo shuffling finished, the newly placed roster appeared. Ash's #2 while Bianca's #8. "Yes! We can fight longer!" The blonde cheered.

"Break a leg." Ash said, but she gasped in disbelief.

"Why would I ever break my own leg?!"

"It's just a metaphor, Bianca! In show business saying good luck will in actuality bring bad luck. For some strange reason."

"I don't get it." Bianca was confused on why it means that.

"I don't either. Well, I'm going to prepare."

"Okay! Break both of your legs and sprain your ankles!" The girl tried to put extra effort into the metaphor, making the boy sweat a bit.

"Thanks." He replied nervously.  
\--------------------------  
"Ladies and gentleman, the first match of round 2! Georgia Hamilton vs. Ash Ketchum!"

"Two girls in a row. Ain't I special?" Ash joked to himself, not actually caring who he faced before Bianca. Georgia had short razzberry colored hair under a yellow cap, along with wearing a primarily dark blue and cyan outfit. A blue shirt, skirt and mid-thigh leggings along with cyan boots and a vest. She also wore yellow gloves.

"Pawniard, battle time!" She declared, revealing her Pokémon. It's a small bipedal creature that vaguely resembles a beetle with a rounded red ang grey head with an extending axe blade coming from its forehead. Four steel spikes poked from its grey body inward towards its ribs. Each arm ended with a knife point instead of hands.

"Pignite, I choose you!" Ash let loose his fire starter, whom puffed fire from his nose. "Pignite, Flame Charge!" Surrounding himself with fire, the Fire Pig Pokémon sprinted towards the Sharp Blade Pokémon.

"Pawniard, dodge and use Metal Claw!" Georgina ordered. Its tips gaining a metal like sheen, it jumped over the incoming fire type and slashed against his back. He hissed from the two stinging lines across his back.

"Come on Ash, you can do it!" Bianca cheered from the audience.

"Flame Charge, once more!" Producing even more flames, he went even faster.

"Again!" Even though Pignite's moving faster than Pawniards are known for, it still evaded the super effective attack and made two more slashes into his left side and leg, dealing a critical hit and rendering him unable to run. He puffed fire in frustration. "Alright, now that he's weakened, use Guillotine!" The knife points at its arms glowed white while also extending them to be as tall as it. Leaping up into the air, it almost seemed like it was curtains for Pignite.

"Get out of there with Rollout!" Ash instructed. Even though most of the speed was gone, the fire starter was able to roll out of the way just before Pawniad ploughed into the ground, smashing a big crater.

"If we can't outspeed it, then we'll overpower! Arm Thrust!" Gritting his teeth, Pignite pounced into the dust, laying a covered up beatdown based from the sounds of pain, though some squealing occurred in that he didn't do it unscathed. Pawniard cried its name out as it flew out of the crater and crashed into the dirt, defeated. Pignite crawled out of the hole, covered in multiple cuts, but he won.

"Pawniard is unable to battle! The winner is Pignite, so that means Ash wins the match!"

"Yeah, we did it Pignite! You did great!" Ash cheered. Pignite tiredly smiled, giving a good thump to his chest.

"Ash is going to the semi-finals! Hooray!" Bianca celebrated. Once Ash was in the contestant lounge, he was spraying disinfectant over Pignite's cuts, a smile on the trainer's face.

"I know they sting, but think about it. You got your first battle scars. Won't the other fire types be jealous that you got them?" He hummed while thinking of the potential glory.

"Pignite!" He declared excitedly.

"That's the spirit."

"AAAASH!" Bianca yelled in joy and she went and hugged him from behind. The boy blushed as he, while no longer distracted by the tournament, felt two soft orbs press into his back by his girlfriend.

"Hehe, hey Bianca." He chuckled somewhat awkwardly. "How did I do?"

"Amazing, fantastic, magnificent! You were great my big strong Ash!" She listed off words of compliment before she started kissing his cheek repeatedly. "You know, we have about 10 minutes before I'm up. Maybe we could find someplace where no one can find us?"

"Uh...what do you have in mind exactly? I want to be sure I don't get caught in something I'll regret."

"Oh don't be silly Ash! It's not like we're going to do anything considered adult rated! Come on, it'll be fun!" Bianca then took hold of her boyfriend's arm, dragging him away to somewhere secret.

"Ah, wait! Pignite, return!"  
\----------------------  
A/N: Could this be? Finally a chance in which I could(possibly)write in a much wanted T rated love break in the plot? I think it is! Though tell me, what do you think? Should I skip it and just continue on with the tournament, or would you like me to write a short break chapter where it's nothing but Bianca and Ash making some love(T rated of course, no lemons!)?


	10. A Quick Break

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Intense T rated romance. Nothing is graphic and no outer clothing is removed, but this sure is steamier than I thought it'd be. Enjoy.

Finding a small room, Bianca pulled Ash in where it looked like a small-moderate size supply room. It even had what seemed like a spare mattress if you can believe it! Although it seemed like once they were actually going to do this, neither one knew how to start properly.

"Sooo...how do you want to do this?"

"I...don't know. I was only thinking about the kissing and snuggling part." After a few seconds of awkward silence, Ash shrugged.

"Ah screw it." The boy just went and laid down on his back. Now that she actually saw him like this, now scenarios were forming in her head, making her grin and snicker.

"Oh Ash, now that you're on the bed, I know what to do." Bianca pounced onto him, surprising the trainer as she bounced over him, her hair framing her face more than it usually did and her bosom pressing into his chest. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she giggled. "Gotcha." Ash laughed slightly as he let his arms hug around her back, bringing her closer. When he placed a hand against her lower back, she shivered from the stimulation, practically purring.

"Oh, you like that don't you?" He asked, letting his hands glide across her back, arousing his autistic girlfriend.

"Y-yes." She replied, her breath hitched. The girl then started to kiss his neck, now making him shiver because she was doing so right on the jugular vein. She also slithered a hand under his shirt and traced his body. Ash was not muscular by any means, and even toned was stretching it since he hasn't worked out once. But all that time playing through their whole childhood at least made sure he was a healthy and fit man. Her man now. Going up his neck, kissing his ear and then the cheek, one more went to the nose before Bianca finally kissed him on the lips, which he recuperated by pressing back. Each of their lips felt warm, and their mouths felt all moist from their increasingly heavy breathing. Both of their faces were blushing all over, experiencing their first private make out session. Moving upwards, his hands went from caressing her back to her short blonde hair, which she kept short because it bothered her when it got too long and kept tickling her shoulders and any exposed skin if she wore a tank-top in the warmer months. It was easy to maintain too. He just loved how silky smooth her hair felt, his fingers going further and further along her scalp until her hat fell off as a result. She broke the kiss to briefly giggle. Ash placed his right hand over her cheek, feeling the warmth go into his palm and fingers. It was a nice and soft touch, and she loved it. She could feel her heart pounding within her chest. In a battle, he always looked so tough and cool and awesome. But now, he was as gentle and caring as he could be, making the girl feel special. She loved her gentle trainer with all her heart. "Ash, I love you so much. You're the best thing of my childhood." She praised, wanting him to know how much the boy meant to her.

"Oh really?"

"Yes. Feel my heart." Taking the hand on her cheek, Bianca guided it to her chest and pressed it as near to her heart as it could. Ash became even more aroused since he could feel her bra through her outer clothes, and some of the breast flesh in his palm.

"You were..." He paused to gulp. "...the best part of mine too."

"Really?" Bianca asked, her love shooting through the roof.

"Yeah. When we would play, or I would help you with something you were struggling with, your smile always felt like the best thing I could ever see. I wanted to see it everyday. Every hour of everyday. You were always so cute and pretty, both in looks and personality.

"Oh Ash!" Bianca dived forward and kissed him with more passion than before, letting his hand now fully fondle her left breast, squeezing it. Ash could feel his fingers go into her soft orb, wondering how something so soft could possibly exist. Even Cottonee plush toys didn't feel as soft as her own tit. She could smell him starting to really sweat, and with the earlier sweat from today, her Ash stunk, which was perfectly okay with her. She wanted this to go on forever. While she couldn't help the forever part, there was something that could really make some steam between them. Backing out from the kiss, she whispered, "Close your eyes." Obliging, he wondered what she had in mind. The trainer could hear some fabric moving around, and a couple of things fall to the floor. "Okay, open them." Opening his eyelids to see his beautiful girlfriend again, one major difference was that her orange vest was off, and he could see her nipples poking through her white shirt, some of her fair skin visible through it due to the girl's own sweat.

"Bianca, you-?" Ash tried asking something, but Bianca simply pressed a finger to his lips.

"Shhh. Just experience it." Guiding his hands with her own, she let her boyfriend cup her perky bosom. "36C cup. You may not know sizes but it's all yours." Ash liked it a lot. Really a lot, if the sudden tightness in his pants were any indication. The boy was aroused from the start, but this really lifted him up so to speak. The blonde moaned as he rubbed them, pushed them together or pulled them apart, or even pinching her nipples which really turned her on, her legs squirming against each other with delight. Taking hold of the girl's upper body and pulling her down so that he could suck on her right nipple, sending her into a frenzy of physical and emotional stimulation.

"Ash, Ash, don't stop. Please." Bianca begged, wanting to ride this out to the end. The girl was panting and her voice in that state of longing compelled Ash to keep going, stroking her tits, digging his fingers into them, and still sucking on her left breast. When it seemed like they'd hit the finale, the roar of an audience echoed through the room, along with the announcer's voice.

"And the winner of this match is Luke Thompson! After a five minute break to clean the arena, it's going to be the final match of round 2!"

"Crap!" Bianca cursed as she sat up, needing to put her bra and vest back on to cover up the wet spots on her shirt. "I was so close too."

"That actually might've been good timing actually." Ash spoke. "Do you even have a clean pair of clothes?" The stopped her for a few seconds.

"On second thought, that was good timing. I would so rather not be embarrassed by thousands wearing soiled underwear and skirt." With a sigh, she placed her hat back on and was about to leave the closet when a hand grabbed her own. She looked back to her boyfriend, whom was smiling.

"That was hot. Maybe we'll finish it next time." His hopefulness for another time like this made her heart flutter, and she had no choice but to smile.

"Yeah."


	11. Rosa to the Challenge

"For our 4th battle, we have Bianca Schroeder vs Stephen Merriweather!"

"Gah! Even the officials can't say my name right!" The stout teenager bemoaned sadly.

"Come on out, Servine!" Summoned to the field was her grass starter whom took a pose, having learned that since the gym battle yesterday, she's become very popular, which helped her confidence overcome her timidity, at least until they leave.

"You're up Sawk, let's go!" Steven yelled as he released his fighting type, whom was resting on his knees. He's a bipedal humanoid Pokémon with blue rocky skin and wore a karate gi outfit with a V neck going down to his black belt. Getting up, he took an offensive pose.

"Servine, use Vine Whip!" Producing vines, she extended them towards the stoic blue fighting type.

"Use Close Combat!" With lightning fast reflexes, he was able to punch and chop away at any vines that tried to get near, to Servine's pained chagrin since they were part of her. "Yeah, now use Bulk Up!" Tightening his black belt, Sawn started emitting a red aura while his muscles grew larger and more pronounced. Bianca started to sweat already, since the Karate Pokémon are among the top three hardest hitting fighting types she knew about. She needed to focus on hit and run tactics to win this one.

"Use Leaf Tornado!" Jumping and spinning on her nose, the Grass Snake produced her best move, trying to be too much for Sawk to handle.

"Double Kick!" Steph ordered, and the blue fighting leapt forward and literally kicked the tornado in half, exposing the startled Servine. With a twist of his body, the second kick landed hard against her slim battle, sending her flying and tumbling to near her owner's feet.

"No! Are you okay Servine?!" The girl asked with great concern.

"A Pokémon with superior strength and durability. She'll have to come up with something quick." Ash said to himself. "Hang in there Servine! I believe in you and Bianca!" He then shouted loud enough for them to hear. The grass starter got up with considerable struggle and looked fearful, he confidence high now gone.

"No way! Without any flying or psychic moves, she's toast! Sawk, win this with Close Combat!" Stefan ordered. Running up to the Grass Snake, he prepared to strike.

"Quick, dodge his attacks!" Bianca pleaded. Even though his punches were swift and sharp, Servine twisted her body around almost literally rolling with the punches, evading by mere millimeters each. "Trip him up with Vine Whip!" Taking hold of his ankles, her vines uprooted his feet and he was suspended in the air for a precious second, before Servine went and slammed into his back, inflicting damage. "Alright, you learned Slam! Good job!"

"That won't be enough to stop us! Double Kick!"

"Same tactic, but even harder!" Bianca instructed. Ducking below his first kick, the Grass Snake Pokémon barely stopped his second with her vines, before slamming onto his chest, knocking the wind out of him. As if that weren't enough, Servine didn't let him go, her vines growing taut as she swung the Karate Pokémon around in a couple of good circles and threw him up into the air. "Servine, jump up after him and use Leaf Tornado!" Doing as she was told, she spun round and around until she was surrounded by a flurry of leaves heading straight for Sawk.

"Counter with Close Combat!" Sten ordered. With his enhanced strength and typical lightning speed, he was able to defend against the grassy attack for a short while, but without the ground to use under his feet, his punches barely had the strength to utilize and thus he was overpowered by the Leaf Tornado. After the attack subsided, both fell down, but Servine remained standing.

"Sawk is unable to battle! The winner is Servine, so that means Bianca wins the match!"

"Alright, we won Servine!" Bianca celebrated as she hugged her grass starter.

"Amazing." Ash commented, tipping his hat with a smile. On the big screen, the four remaining contestants' faces appeared, before being shuffled. To the couple's relief, they didn't have to battle each other. Ash vs Dion and Bianca vs Luke.

Of course, Ash won easily against the enemy's darkumaka, so now it was just Bianca's turn now.

"And so begins the second half of the semi finals! Luke Thompson vs Bianca Schroeder!"

"Time for my star! And that's Golett!" On the field is a Pokémon that appears to be made of blue clay of various shades. It's quite bulky with two pairs of crisscrossing brown bands extend around its spherical body meeting at a blue square with a yellow swirl in the center. Two large stone-like blocks act as its feet and two more such blocks adorn its "forearms"; each arm ends in a dark blue-colored, crude three-fingered hand.

"Come on out, Panpour!" Of the Pokémon she kept, one was her blue water monkey, Panpour, whom looked afraid being out in a populated area like this, and was creeped out by the Automaton Pokémon. "Don't worry Panpour, I believe in you! Use Fury Swipes!" Shaking her head, she ran towards the enemy Pokémon and tried to land swipes, but they just passed through it. It scratched its head in confusion. "No effect?!"

"Don't you know? Normal type moves have no effect on ghosts! Now use Mega Punch!" Cocking its fist back, the ghost/ground type nailed a powerful blow against the monkey's face, sending her back skidding across the ground.

"Don't give up! Use Scald!" Rearing her head back, the Spray Pokémon spouted a steaming torrent of water.

"Golett, Doubel Team!" Golette split off into several after images, the water blast phasing through one of them. "Now use Shadow Punch!" Once they disappeared, the Automaton Pokémon's right hand glowed as it reared another punch, and sent a black energy fist at the frightened monkey.

"Use Scald again!" Bianca ordered. Creating another steaming stream of water, it halted the Shadow Punch. But Luke wasn't done yet.

"Now use Shadow Ball!" Jumping up, it formed an orb of black energy and threw it at Panpour, whom couldn't dodge.

"Point Scald downward!" The blonde pleaded. Aiming her head down, her own attack propelled her up and back, so both of the attacks reached where she was and exploded against the ground. "Alright, way to go!"

"If ranged attacks won't work, we'll just pummel you up close! Mega Punch!" Golett started to run towards the water monkey.

"That's what you think! Dodge and use Bite!" Easily maneuvering around the incoming fist, she bit down at an exposed area that wasn't shielded, causing it to wail in pain.

"Golett, no!" Luke cried out.

"Now use Scald!" With point black range, the ghost/ground type had no chance to evade as it was drenched by the scalding hot attack, pushing it out of bounds and into a wall. It slumped down, defeated.

"Golett is unable to battle! The winner is Panpour, so that means Bianca wins the match!"

"Amazing Panpour, you're amazing!" The girl prasied her little monkey. She turned to her master and nodded with a tired expression.

"And with that, our finals matchup is Bianca Schroeder vs Ash Ketchum!"

"Well it's about time." Ash sighed a breathe of relief. Gazing at his girlfriend, his spirit has never felt so high. "Get ready Bianca. Unlike our previous battles and sparring matches, this is the real deal." Later on when it was knight time, the couple were having a nice dinner.

"Cheers, to the two finalists! Us!" Bianca exclaimed with joy, her and Ash clinking their glasses of water together.

"This is certainly going to be a good match tomorrow. You were awesome today."

"Thanks so much for your lovely words, Ash. You were quite handsomely bold yourself." The two laughed with their lovey dovey talk, acting like such sweethearts. "Just you wait Ash, I'm going to pull out all the stops and finally beat you!" She declared.

"Don't expect an easy win. We know each other's usual strategies and even some new gimmicks. So bring it on." He accepted her challenge with a smile. After staring into each other's eyes intensely, both laughed it off. Once their dinner has been served, hamburgers, fries and coca cola for Ash and pizza with pepperoni pizza with extra cheese for Bianca, enjoying a root beer float as well.  
\---------------------------------------------  
After a good nights sleep, the time has finally come.

"The final round of the Nimbasa City tournament is finally here! And these two gifted and hard working trainers will be battling for the win! Let's get this battle on the road! To my left: Ash Ketchum! And to my right is Bianca Schroeder! Both teenagers come from Nuvema Town! Is everyone ready?!" Everyone went into an uproar while the two trainers nodded. "Then let the battle begin!"

"Yamask, I choose you!" Ash yelled as he let out the ghostly Spirit Pokémon.

"Come on out, Drilbur!" Bianca summoned her Mole Pokémon. "Use Dig!" Leaping forward the ground type burrowed underground.

"Brace yourself!" Ash ordered. Bringing his mask inward while hugging himself, the ghost type was properly defending himself and waited until Drilbur burst from the ground and tackled Yamask, sending him flying back. His loud wails of agony told that it hurt a lot. "Will-O-Wisp!" Uncurling all of his limbs, Yamask sent out a blue ghostly flame that enveloped the ground type, screaming from getting burned.

"No! We can do this! Use Hone Claws!" His claws extending and glowing orange, Drilbur clashed them together before letting the power increase his strength before the burn took its toll, the ground type growling.

"Use Hex!" Forming an orb above its head that looked like an ominous purple eye before lobbing it at the Mole Pokémon, pushing him back with an explosion. He yelled in agony as he tumbled back across the ground, but he wasn't down and out yet.

"That's the spirit! Use Dig once more!" With his sharpened claws, he dug back underground.

"Use Hex down that hole!" Ash commanded. Forming another orb, Yamask plunged it deep into the earth, following the ground type. A few seconds later, an explosion was heard, and it seemed like he won, but Bianca shouted,

"Metal Claw!" Bursting from behind the ghost type, it was able to take a couple of good slashes, inflicting major damage. Drilbur even glowed a certain aura again as his physical capabilities improved even more so, yelling his name with power, until it was cut short by the burn again.

"Get it away with Ominous Wind!" Crossing his arms before unfolding them, Yamask released a gust of purple wind that pushed back the Mole Pokémon, but he dug his claws in, panting heavily from the damage he was taking.

"Hex!/Metal Claw!" Both trainers screamed, with both Pokémon going on the attack. Drilbur charged as fast as he could while Yamask formed another black orb. Just as the ground type jumped and prepared to strike, the ghost type brought Hex down in between them. The clash of the two attacks caused a powerful explosion between them, causing the two trainers to brace for the shockwave. As the smoke cleared, both Mole and Spirit fainted.

"I can't believe it folks! It's a tie! We've seen some hot action before, but this is the first time we've had a finals tie in Nimbasa's 107 year history!" The announcer remarked, sending everyone into an uproar. Ash and Bianca each returned their Pokémon, and walked up to each other.

"Man, I was really sure I'd win this time." Bianca pouted, disappointed in herself.

"Hey, look at it like this. This is the first time you haven't lost to me either. And I'm so proud of you. If I'm being honest, you're the best since you did such a great job keeping up."

"Awww, thank you Ash! I had lots of fun!" She cooed as she hugged him and gave her boyfriend a kiss.

"Ain't that cute folks? A heartwarming moment for our finalists. But now, let's hear it from our middle-weight champion!"

"Champion?" Ash asked, confused enough to break the kiss. "Nobody said anything about a champion."

"Yeah, I don't remember something like that." Bianca also stated. From a middle wall, it opened up revealing bright light and a long shadow coming from a feminine silhouette, who strutted towards them.

"Wow, you were awesome, you two!" The girl praised, her hair hanging from double buns drifting from the gentle breeze, along with her culottes. "You actually managed to win even though this is your first time participating!" Now that the girl wasn't surrounded by blinding light, she wore a long sleeve white t-shirt with blue sleeves, along with a stretched pokeball insignia over her chest, along with black leggings.

"Who are you, and why does that sound so impressive to you?" Ash questioned.

"My name is Rosa Mills! Nice to meet ya, and unlike the regular Pokémon League, Nimbasa City's own tournaments is all about feeding Pokémon vitamins, using tournament allowed items during battle, and having Pokémon from all over Unova instead of just the first six or twelve you come across. Of course, you can't use items in the light and middle weight categories since the Pokémon aren't fully evolved, but once you get into the heavy weight and super-heavy weight class, that's when it gets really fun!"

"So why are you here then? If we both lost, doesn't that mean neither of us get the chance to fight you?"

"Even though this is the first time we've had a tie, it's stated in the rules that if it's a tie, the champion chooses who they'll fight, based on their performance through out. And I already know who I'll face!" She pointed her finger at Bianca. "I choose to battle you!"

"Oh yeah!" Bianca cheered while clapping her hands.

"Huh, why her?" Ash complained.

"You're a really good trainer, but Bianca does just as good even though her Pokémon have been up against Pokémon considerably stronger than them normally, whether in type advantage or skill, while you normally steamrolled through your section of the competition."

"Thank you!" The blonde girl said, blushing from the explained compliment while clapping.

"Well, I guess I can't argue with that. Well, do your best Bianca."

"I will Ash! I'll become Nimbasa's champion!" Rosa giggled.

"We'll see."  
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"And now, here we have the championship battle between middle weight champ Rosa Mills vs Bianca Schroeder! Let the battle begin!"

"Cryognal, get ready!" Rosa summoned what looked like a living snowflake with a perpetually angry face.

"Come on out, Darumaka!" Bianca set out her newest fire type Pokémon.

"Cryognal, use Mist!" From its frowning mouth, it let out a cool and fine mist that covered the field.

"You think that will stop us?" Bianca challenged, not intimidated whatsoever. "Darumaka, use Work Up!" The Zen Charm Pokémon tensed and tried to emit a red glow to power up, but nothing was happening, except for the Pokémon accidently farting from the effort. "What?"

"This is a special mist! Pokémon can't enhance their skills while it's on the field!" Rosa explained.

"In that case, we'll just have to attack head on then! Use Head-butt!" Bianca instructed. As it ran, Rosa chuckled with a grin.

"Counter with Reflect!" Forming a blue barrier around itself, it was able to soften the blow against the fire type. "Now use Aurora Beam!" From it's mouth came a blast that looked like the aurora borealis, and it froze Darumaka in place. Gasping, it tried to wiggle it's way out of the frozen ground.

"Darumaka, get out of there!" Bianca pleaded.

"Rapid spin!" Spinning like a frisbee, it flew through the air around the fire type before it went right for him and bashed the Zen Charm Pokémon out of his confinement, landing a critical hit along the way. While hurt, Darumaka simply rolled right back onto its feet.

"Way to go! Now, try to get close!" Nodding, he was on the move again.

"Aurora Beam, again!" Another blast of icy colors were aimed at him, but they were ready.

"Tuck yourself in!" Retracting his arms and legs into his body, he rolled around the field eluding the ice type move. When it was getting uncomfortably close, Rosa commanded,

"Retreat than attack with Rapid Spin!" Stopping its own attack, the Crystallizing Pokémon spun around again and flew through the air until it headed straight for the fire type, still rolling around.

"Jump and use Fire Punch!"

"Counter with Aurora Beam!" While Darumaka leapt up and tried to punch the snowflake with a fiery punch, Cryognal was able to blast it away, sending him high into the sky. "Finish it with Rapid Spin!" Still spinning at fast speeds, it tried again to slam into the Zen Charm Pokémon.

"Fire Punch!" Regaining his senses, his right fist burst into flame and swung right at the ice type, landing a direct blow, much to the shock of Rosa. Darumaka fell onto the ground with a couple of pained bounces before landing on its feet, panting while Cryognal crashed into the ground, defeated.

"Cryognal is unable to battle! The winner is Darumaka, meaning that Bianca Schroeder is our new champion!" The audience went into another uproar for their newest champion. Bianca jumped up and down screaming in outright jubilation as she ran to her Pokémon, hugging him close.

"Oh my gosh Darumaka, you were awesome!" She complimented her Pokémon, whom was chuckling with her. Rosa sighed with a smile as she returned her Pokémon.

"Good job Cryognal. You did your best." Walking up to her victorious challenge, her face wasn't that of disappointment in herself, but awe for Bianca, the girl's eyes sparkling in wonder. "That was really impressive Bianca! I knew it was a risk to send such a risky Pokémon, but I thought its speed and range would cover that. You're way better than I expected!"

"Thank you so much! This has been so great." Bianca was literally crying in excess joy. This was her first tournament and she won with half her team being considerably or even completely new.

"Now then, here's your reward." Several people presented the girl with several prizes. "Your first is the middle weight champion belt. It's not for everyday wear, but you've earned it today." Getting all giddy, Bianca took the belt and clipped it on, resting on her hips. "The second is a decorative set of feathers. Bianca was handed a display case that showed seven different colored feathers like a rainbow. "They represent health, power, resistance, genius, cleverness, swiftness and beauty. And you've definitely got all those marks down. And finally..." Since Bianca could hold it, she was just shown one of those comically oversized checks that requires two hands. "A check of $50,000 dollars."

"Oh my gosh! This is too much! I'm so happy!" Bianca kept crying. A camera crew approached her then.

"Bianca, is there anything you'd like to say?" Rosa prompted. Even though her face was a bit of a mess from the tears, her shining eyes and radiant smile made up for it.

"Hi everyone! Mom, Dad, I won my first tournament, see?! Even though I have autism, I still made it to the top of a city tournament, so that means I'm really strong and skilled! I'll be sending this home via Pidove shipping service! I love you both and my town, but my biggest thanks goes to my boyfriend Ash Ketchum!" She then turned to him by the side. "Say hi Ash!" The camera turned to him, whom looked startled from being put in the spotlight, before nervously waving and laughing. Rosa then stepped next to her to speak.

"Such beautiful words from our newest champion, Bianca! How about a big hand?!" Everybody applauded for her, making this officially the second best day of her life.  
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"Huh?! You want to join with us?" Ash gasped, not expecting that Rosa came up to them at the front of the stadium and suggested what he just said.

"That's right! It's been so long since I've travelled around, and since you two are so strong, it'd be fun if I went along if you'll have me."

"Did we hear right?"

"You want to travel with them?" Two voices asked in sequence. They turned to the sliding doors to see two older teenagers. One guy and and girl. The guy wore a black and red cap, a light blue jacket over a black shirt, black jeans and red and black sneakers. The girl wore a white cap with her wild hair cascading down in an unruly ponytail going down to her shoulder blades. She wore a white tank-top under a black vest and short shorts so short even the pockets were visible. She also wore brown boots. He was taller than Rosa while she was just slightly shorter reaching Rosa's eyes.

"Oh hey! Guys, meet my twin siblings Hilbert and Hilda!" Rosa introduced as she went to them and slung her arms over their shoulders. "We all come from the cozy town of Aspertia Town!"

"Which we planned on going back home to." Hibert pointed out. "What's mom going to think that you just up and left us without any kind of advance?"

"Yeah, she's going to be worried if we arrive home without you." Hilda agreed, looking concerned.

"Don't worry, I was going to tell her. And if they let me join, I'll have friends with me. So what do you say?" Rosa asked the couple.

"Oh I'd love to have you come with us! It'd be so nice to have a girl to talk to. It's only been Ash, Cheren and I until he left, and we're trying to find him. But it'll be so fun if you come with us!" Bianca approved.

"I don't want to get on your family's bad side, so I'm good either way." Ash shrugged as he raised his arms up to place his hands behind his head.

"Okay! Let me talk to mom and we'll see!" Rosa agreed as she dragged her siblings into the building, leaving Bianca and Ash alone.

"Wow, you're Nimbasa's champion. You are just awesome right now!" Ash complimented his girlfriend.

"Oh, thank you." She squealed as she hugged and kissed him. "So what do you think if Rosa does join us?"

"I think it'd be fun. A new friend and training partner, this will be really interesting. That sounds great." He admitted.

"I'm glad you think so." And then she went right back to kissing him. About 15 minutes later Rosa and her siblings came back out.

"Guess what?! I'm allowed to go with you! This is so exciting! Thank you so much for letting me join! I promise I'll give it my all!"

"The more the merrier!" Bianca remarked.

"Now you two take care of our kid sister, alright? We know she can fend for herself, but these are becoming dangerous times." Hilbert mentioned.

"Yes, keep her safe as we know she'll do the same." Hilda added.

"Leave it to us!" The blonde girl accepted. And so from then on, they went back to a group of three with their new companion, Rosa Mills.  
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A/N: That was great to write! So, what do you all think of the chapter? Leave your reviews down below.


	12. Down to Earth

"Whoa, so you're telling me that you have high functioning autism? Wow, you're even more impressive than I thought!" Rosa complimented Bianca, whom blushed. They were in the Pokemon Center while their Pokémon healed.

"Thanks. Ash is so thoughtful. When I was having a panic attack because the Skyarrow Bridge overwhelmed my sensitive hearing, Ash and Cheren sang a childhood song I love that calmed me down, and then he got me headphones to drown out the bridge and city.

"Wow, you're quite the boyfriend, Ash. I'm pretty jealous actually." The cheerful brunette remarked, her grin wide.

"Well, we've known each other our whole lives. I just can't stand watching my best friend suffer." Ash explained, trying to be modest.

"And who's this other friend, Cheren?" Ash became more serious from his mention.

"He's our other best friend. He's a bit serious but he's still always been there, completing our little triangle. But recently he's left us, leaving us behind so that he could become champion quicker since he claims we were slowing him down."

"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that. But don't worry, you've got help with me now, so this mission you have will be even easier!"

"How will it be easier?" The boy asked.

"Vitamins, items, and TM's of every kind sellable. I told you that they're important for the heavy weight and super heavy weight tournaments, but all of the weight classes promote them for more efficient training. Follow me, I'll show you the way." Leading them to one of Nimbasa's stores she bought them the vitamins protein, iron, calcium, zinc and carbohydrates. She also bought them the most common of competitive items that were allowed, such as rocky helmets or assault vests for bulky Pokémon, Life Orb for the hard hitting ones, and lenses for those needing more accuracy. She even outfitted them all with new moves that they would most benefit down the line. Sure, it was expensive, but Rosa having been champion for 2 years gave her an 80% discount. They tested their new items and moves out by both battling trainers on Route 16 East of Nimbasa and catching new Pokémon. Bianca caught a minccino, the same species Ash's mom owns, a gothita which looked like a baby goth baby doll with a purple head, and an Emolga. Ash caught a solosis, basically a Pokémon version of a zygote, two light green cells splitting apart in darker green gel that was completely spherical. He also caught a trubbish, basically a living garbage bag with clumped up filth for arms. By the time everything that could be possibly done in Nimbasa City has finished, nightfall has already set, so Ash had to put another day off until tomorrow to go searching for his friend.

"Oooooh, I'm sorry it took so long for you guys! I didn't mean to prolong your search for your friend by that much!" Rosa pleaded forgiveness, crying her tears out. The three were in Bianca's rented room until it was time to go to sleep.

"Hey, hey, it's okay." Ash tried calming her down. "We still have a bike, so we'll be able to keep up. Although, we didn't anticipate have a new friend come with us so quickly. Hmm." The boy then pondered about this.

"Oh don't worry, I have my own bike, so there's no need to worry about me." The brunette explained, not wanting her new friends to worry.

"Okay then, that's all settled then! Let's get some goodnight sleep, that way we can-" The blonde was cut off when Ash's Xtranciever rang. Looking at it, he gasped when he saw it was Cheren calling.

"It's Cheren, hush!" Answering, the face of his friend in the dark of night was seen, illuminated only by his own watch.

"I'm surprised. I would've figured you'd have tried to catch up to me by now." He commented, pushing his glasses up. "But that's not why I called. Are you alone?" Figuring he wouldn't explain anything if he said yes, he lied.

"Yes. Are you okay?"

"Yes. I just met the champion today. Alder Ray."

"You met Alder?! What was it like?" The young trainer inquired, getting excited.

"Honestly, kind of a let down. He's not what I envisioned he'd be. He just wanders around goofing off, even if he says it's a journey. He tried to tell me that there's more to life than just getting stronger. But if that's the case, there would be no point in being champion. To be champion, strength comes before everything.

"Well that sounds lonely? What if you do reach it? What happens after that?"

"I stay the champion. I defend my title and be the strongest in the region.

"You only need to do that for what, half a week at the Pokémon League Tournament? Nobody says it's a full time gig. Do you have to eat your breakfast and brush your teeth like a Pokemon Champion?"

"Of course you wouldn't understand. Being champion means respect, and nobody's going to respect me if I act like a carefree wanderer. If you really want to test my resolve, I'll see you at the end, where I'll beat you and then advance to become champion." He then hung up.

"Wow, that guy is a bit of a stick in the mud isn't he?" Rosa commented.

"He watched a video of Alder becoming champion and took it as what he said. Now I'm more determined to knock some sense into him, in the tournament or before that. I sure hope it's before."

"Well, at least we'll be well rested in that case. Goodnight." Bianca yawned, and the three agreed it was ready to go to bed and sleep.  
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Ash and Rosa pedaled as fast as they could on their bikes down Route 5, Bianca hugging onto her boyfriends back because she rode into a pond on her first try after breakfast. Soon, they were able to see the Driftveil Drawbridge coming up close.

"Alright, we're getting close!" Rosa called out.

"Huh? Wait a sec!" Ash swiftly turned his bike to the left to come to a rapid stop, shortly before Rosa did the same.

"What is it Ash?" The girl asked. He pointed to a group near the end of the bridge, a whole bunch of musicians playing their instruments and dancing to camping travelers and bystanders. But one that stood out from the rest was a middle aged man with crazy red-orange hair like it was fire, part of the back held in as a ponytail. His clothes looked like that of a nomad.

"The champion." They all gasped at the same time. Setting their bikes aside, it appeared that he was drunk, drinking what appeared to be a bottle of wine in one hand and a bowl of sake in the other, laughing and enjoying his time like it was a party. This was also not how Ash was expecting if he met Alder for the first time.

"Is that you Alder?" Bianca questioned, getting some of the group's attention, including the man himself. Realizing his job was called out, he jumped onto his bare feet and wobblily took a pose.

"That's me! And I'm glad you asked, missy!" Taking a moment to burp, he continued. "I-It is I, the champion of Unov-hic-a! Behold at my gl-OW!" Alder seemed to have thrown his back out while being overdramatic, and fell onto his back while the people became concerned of his well being, trying to help him.

"Now I can understand why Cheren was disappointed." Ash spoke to himself.

"Yeah, not very impressive compared to years ago, is he?" Bianca added.

"Well, he must do something right since he's the champion." Rosa tried to defend the older man, but she sounded just as unconvinced as them. By the time he got his back worked out, his jolly emotions were gone.

"Ah damn it, there goes one of my introductions." Looking back at the three teenagers and noticing their pokeballs, his face straightened out. "Wh-hic-what, you trainers or something?"

"Yes. My goal is to become a Pokémon trainer."

"Oh, another ambi-" His sentence cut off with a loud burp. -bitious one, ain't ya? Well let me tell you yo-hic-ung one: strength ain't all there is. Already told that to one lad yesterday but he totally blew my advice o-hic-ff." He then went all enraged. "Doesn't he know who I am?! I'm the freaking champion! Everything I say is...is..." His anger just as quickly died down as he went somber. "Ahhhh, who am I kidding? No need to listen to an old man like me."

"But Mr. Champion sir, the thing is he's our friend, Cheren. And he's on a wrong path! He thinks all there is is strength but we know the truth! It's having fun along the way and making friends and figuring out what to do with your life because I don't know my goal in life!" Bianca blurted in her hasty outburst, surprising her two other friends. Processing what she said for a few seconds, he pounded against his stomach to give a giant belch before standing up, a bit more present than he was a moment ago.

"Huh, you and your friends are smart then. Ain't that just grand? You sure got it right missy! Life is to be enjoyed to the fullest!" He gave a big laugh, prompting the others to nervously chuckle along. "Well, pleased to make your acquittance, whoever you three are!"

"Oh, I'm Ash. This here is Bianca and Rosa."

"Well Ashton..." The champion began to speak again trying to sound wise, even though he got the trainer's name wrong. "...If you believe what Beyoncé said, then I have no doubt your journey will be ripe with adventure, and fun as hell! A goal is good, but the quality of the road determines whether or not that goal is actually worth anything!" He turned to the blonde. "And as for you Beanca, you say you have no goal? Well, who am I to judge? As long as you're having fun, especially with friends, who even needs a goal? Who cares?! Who cares what the destination is as long as the road is...well you get my point. No need to repeat myself." Turning to Rosa, he asked, "And what do you want to do Rosie?"

"Uh...it's Rosa. And I don't have a goal in mind either for now. I'm just travelling with them for the fun of it."

"Hmmm..." He stayed silent, thinking about something. But when minutes started to pass, Ash was getting impatient.

"Alder?" All he got was snoring from the old man. "Alder!" He yelled, waking up the older man.

"Wha! Ah...ah...yes! Yes, it seems like you know how to appreciate the simpler things in life. That will get you far." Stepping back, he looked across them.

"Ashley, Bethica, Rosabella, if nothing else, take this bit advice. There are many different people with many different answers. Everyone has different views, including you and me! While there are people who strive for a goal, there are those who are happy with what they have. Neither is more wrong or right than the other, but know when they themselves are in the wrong. They may even try to force their views on you but here's a quote that I've heard from...someone, I forget who. "When a situation goes South, you say, 'Hey, it's not winter yet! Go back North!" Or something like that. Yo-you getting what I'm saying?" His speech started to get a bit slurred again.

"Basically, we should stand by our opinions and morals, no matter who tries to change it." Rosa replied, after thinking about it.

"Bingo, give this girl a cookie! Now let us not say goodbye, for they are just hellos until we meet again in the future."

"I'm not sure that makes sense?" Bianca remarked, confused about the logic.

"It doesn't have to, it sounds wise and sage like and I'm sticking with it!" He yelled, getting caught in his zone again. "I'm Alder the champion and you've been a great audience! Goodnight!" He then passed out, snoring all the while.

"Let's hope the next time we meet him he's sober." Rosa stated, and the couple nodded as they went down the rust colored bridge, Bianca catching a blue duck along the way. By the time they reached Driftveil City, they marveled at how different this city unlike how the others looked. It was an ocean port with many kids of boats, but the most prominent being those big freighter ships which they could see from above from their viewpoint.

"Oh yeah, I can't wait to see who I'm going to face next." Ash spoke, getting ready for his fifth gym battle. However, when they reached the gym, it was closed. "Huh, how can it be closed?" Almost as if by lucky coincidence, the doors opened to reveal a gym leader. He looked giant in both height and width, almost as if he was a human wall. And he was dressed as a cowboy, and not a happy one at that.

"Howdy partners, what ya'll doing here? You want a battle, don't ya'll?" He spoke in a Texan accent, his voice very gruff.

"Uh, yes please. This is going to be our fifth badge." Ash answered.

"Not me though. I'm just tagging along." Rosa clarified. The gruff gym leader than smiled.

"Well, as much as I'd like to, ya'll gonna hafta wait. I'm in a big hurry so I ain't got time for battlin'. Why don't ya'll skedaddle for now? I'd recommend goin' to the market over there's until I'm done with my business." He then walked past the teenagers.

"I wonder what kind of market it is?" Bianca wondered, but Rosa got excited.

"Oh, I've been to the market before! It's where they have nothing but fresh produce in stock! Follow me!" The brunette dragged her friends to where it indeed looked like a farmer's market, three columns with up to 6 people on each side.

"Oh my. So many to choose from!" Bianca gasped. "How are we supposed to know what to buy?"

"Oh, oh, how about we go out for a picnic?! We'll get some of the yummiest food they have here and we'll have the freshest lunch you guys ever had!" Rosa suggested.

"Sounds great! Let's get to it!" Ash agreed, and they split. Bianca bought some apples, oranges, bananas, pears and blueberries. Ash got some milk, juice and soda, while Rosa got some neopolitan ice cream for the three of them. Once they gathered at a picnic table and laid it all out, they were practically drooling.

"This is the best lunch I've ever seen." Ash sighed in delight.

"So many delicious foods! I'm going to love eating this with both of you!" Bianca squealed, hopping from one foot to the next.

"Then let's stop waiting and chow down!" Rosa declared and they all agreed. They all ate their fill, and they all certainly agreed that was the freshest and tastiest picnic they've had in a long time. However, something that Ash noticed, is that in between the building in the distance, he noticed something familiar...a knight.

"Team Plasma!" Ash yelled and started running, leaving the two girls behind.

"Ash, wait! I haven't finished my ice cream!" Bianca pleaded in protest, but he already ran ahead. By the time he stopped running, he wound up in the inside of a cooler warehouse filled with ice cream. Seconds later, his friends caught up.

"Wow, you're fast aren't you?" Rosa panted slightly, not tired but was surprised how much she had to book it.

"Ash, Cheren and I used to play tag all the time as kids." Bianca explained. "Cheren never played long but Ash always kept me company. It was fun." Bianca giggled. But before they could continue, eight Team Plasma knights appeared from the corners, surrounding the trio. And behind one of them was one of TP's Seven Sages.

"Pokémon are our king's friends. While we're taking care of them, we can't let any harm come to them here. Everyone, drive these intruders out!" They got surrounded by various normal types, dark types, and a trubbish.

"8-3. These aren't good odds." Ash observed.

"No. Not very good at all. Brrrr." Bianca shook, but not from fear.

"Yeah. Not for them." Rosa chuckled as they each sent out a Pokémon perfect for the job. Pignite, Archie, and Zebstrika. With their superior strength and speed, even being outnumbered nearly 3 to 1, they beat all the enemy Pokémon in moments. Just after they have won, the cowboy gym leader entered the cold storage, along with four workers.

"There you are! What in tarnation?! What are you Plasma varmints doing in my cities' cold storage?! Ain't it bit chilly for you half-wits? Boys, take them to the hoosegow." All eight of the knights, along with the sage, silently went away with the workers to be arrested while Clay whistled. "Well I'll be! You rascals managed to round up some robbers! Well done indeed!" He smiled proudly. "Why don't we skedaddle from this here storage and get you warmed up some?"

"Th-that would b-be n-nice." Bianca responded, shivering. Going to the Pokémon Center, the teens hummed in relaxation as they let the electric blankets warm them up.

"I have to admits, you kids' ain't half bad. Name's Clay. Clay Horton, and I've heard of you lot. Bianca, Rosa, Ash." They gasped from him already knowing their names.

"How do you know?" Rosa asked the huge cowboy.

"Elesa. She didn't say what, but you must got game to have impressed the little lady. I'd like to battle whoever did so."

"I did." Bianca answered, raising a hand.

"Well then, once you and your Pokémon are in apple pie order, we'll hoosie on down to the gym and get it on. What ya say?" He asked the girl, obviously getting psyched for his match.

"What does apple pie have to do with battling? Do we get apple pie?! Yum, I love it!" Bianca gushed with droll dripping out her mouth, confusing Clay.

"Eh, nevermind then."  
\-------------------  
In the gym, the four entered a mine shaft elevator that descended down into the darkness, a lightbulb keeping it from pitch black. Once they reached down to a certain level and trekked down a tunnel, Clay used an axe to press a button, opening up two sliding doors that revealed a battle field in a room made entirely of hollowed out earth, with scaffolds providing the necessary light.

"This is rather cool." Ash acknowledged as he and Rosa went to the stands.

"Yeah, I've never been in an underground room like this before." The brunette agreed. Once Clay and Bianca were on the opposite sides of the field, a miner acted as referee.

"Alright! The battle between Bianca the challenger and Clay the gym leader is about to get underway! Each side will have four Pokémon, and the battle is over when all four are unable to continue! Only the challenger may substitute Pokémon! Let the battle begin!"

"Let's get this show on the road! Krokorock, let's get to work!" Throwing a pokeball into the air, from inside was the evolved form of Sandile, a bipedal sand colored crocodile with a pink underbelly stripped black.

"Krokorock!" It snarled with an intimidating gaze.

"Come on out, Servine!" Throwing her pokeball after a few good windmill spins, she unleashed her grass starter.

"Servine." She hissed. Although she still had a little bit of timidity in her eyes, being upgraded with competitive stuff and moves really boosted her confidence. In fact, she even seems to have grown more confident despite the ground/dark type's fearsome stare.

"Servine, use Leaf Blade!" Her tail glowing neon green, she went on the attack as she serpentine through the arena.

"Dodge with Dig!" Clay ordered. Krokorock burrowed deep into the ground, leaving the Grass Snake nothing to hit when she reached where it was. It didn't take long before it burst from the ground and slashed across Servine, dealing her some damage. "Now use Crunch!" Its fangs glowing white, it clamped down on the grass type, making her scream in extreme pain.

"Quick, use Giga Drain!" Bianca pleaded. The leaves on Servine's back glowed neon green before extending like tendrils, wrapping themselves around the surprised Desert Croc Pokemon, both freeing herself, and absorbing most of the ground type's health, much to its immense discomfort.

"Quick, use Sandstorm!" Clay commanded. Stomping its foot, the dirt of the battlefield started to fly around, obstructing the sight of everyone except Krokorock. Servine hissed as she tried blinking the sand away. "Now use Bulldoze!" Krokorock stomped its foot again, this time sending a shockwave that spread across the ground, crashing into the distracted grass type. She yelled out as she tumbled across the field, injured once more. "Dig, once more!" Digging underground again, it seemed like things were going to repeat when the blonde got an idea.

"Servine, use Aerial Ace to jump straight up!" Nodding, she jumped up into the air surrounded by white streaks, nearly reaching the earthen ceiling before falling back down. "Now use Leaf Blade!" Her tail glowing again, she fell towards the ground where Krokorock emerged, but didn't find her until he looked up. With a single slash, the grass starter dealt a powerful blow, landing gracefully on her feet while the ground/dark type groaned before falling onto his front, defeated.

"Krokorock is unable to battle! The winner is Servine!"

"Yeah, way to go Bianca!" Ash cheered.

"That training really payed off, didn't it?!" Rosa asked her companion.

"It sure has! Now my team is super strong!" Bianca replied with the biggest smile ever. Clay simply laughed as he returned his Pokémon.

"You may got spirit, but yer still nothin' but a young whippersnapper to me! 'Bout time I teach ya some manners! Excadrill, let's get to work!" Having to show his ace early, this was going to be interesting real quick. Excadrill was larger and many times heavier than it's previous form of Drilbur, now sporting what seemed like a third of a bladed drill for its claws and forehead. "Use Drill Run!" Placing its claws near its head completing its front to look like a complete drill with blades sticking out. Jumping up, it started falling towards Servine while spinning.

"Dodge it!" Bianca instructed. Just barely, she got out of the way before Excadrill plunged into the solid ground like it was water. In fact, it didn't take very long before it came back just as swift, this time successfully stabbing into the grass starter. She screamed from the attack.

"Quick, use Giga Drain!" Running up to the Subterranean Pokémon, the leaves on her back grew again as tendrils and ensnared the ground/steel mole, draining his health, but not by much from the lack of major discomfort.

"Break free with Hone Claws!" Spinning itself around, thus pulling Servine along whipping her through the air, a red aura was glowing around Excadrill, which gave it the power to break free from her draining attack.

"Leaf Storm!" Bianca pleaded. Servine jumped into the air to create a flurry of enhanced leaves, before sending them all at the ground/steel type.

"Push through it with Drill Run!" Forming into a drill again, it jumped and spun like its name sake. Going through all the leaves, it was able to withstand the attack and land a direct hit on the Grass Snake Pokémon, delivering the final blow she could take. Crashing to the ground, she lay unconscious.

"Servine is unable to battle! The winner is Excadrill!"

"Now how you like that, kid? Shaking in yer boots yet?!" He asked the shocked blonde girl.

"Servine, return. You did so well. Rest now. For your information, I don't wear boots, so the joke's on you! Archie, I choose you!" Next on her side was her fossil Pokémon.

"Clever. Despite being rock type, he's also flying so he'll be immune against ground type attacks." Ash pointed out.

"Cleaver girl." Sora commented.

"Ya think we're gonna let some flightless bird take us down? Use Slash!"

"Counter with Acrobatics!" While the two Pokémon ran at each other, even with Excadrill appearing to be the faster foe, Archie was able to blitz around the Subterranean Pokémon, creating to after images while it glided around, before hitting it multiple times from multiple angles.

"Keep trying to use Slash!" Its claws glowing white, the ground/steel type mole swept around and was able to smack against the First Bird Pokémon, sending him tumbling across the ground. He squawked in annoyance.

"I'm sure we got it on the ropes now! Use U-turn!" Bianca suggested.

"Keep it away from ya!" Even though Excadrill tried using slash on the rock/flying type, he easily jumped over it and landed another blow before promptly returning to his master.

"Thank you. You'll be needed later. Come on out, Panpour!" Substituting Archie was her water monkey. Excadrill's appearance made her yelp with fright.

"Ha, you really thinks that there little monkey's gonna do anything? We'll show ya! Excadrill, use Drill Run!" Forming into a drill again, it went for a spinning attack.

"Counter with Scald!" Bianca pleaded. Pushing past her fear, she reared her head back and shot a blast of steaming water that connected with Excadrill. Even with its drill, it couldn't handle the hot water seeping in, along with the aquatic move in general, it was successfully repelled, being sent out of the arena and into the stone wall behind Clay. It was defeated.

"Excadrill is unable to battle! The winner is Panpour!"

"Yes! Way to go Panpour!"Bianca complimented.

"Well, yer certainly a powerful trainer. But without yer grass snake, let's sees you overcome this! Palpitoad, let's get to work!" To Bianca's surprise, his Pokémon appeared to be a water type as well as ground, Palpitoad being an amphibious ovoid shaped Pokémon. It was mostly blue with a tan belly, and it was covered in light blue lumps with a big one over its head and smaller ones across its back and sides, lacking arms as well. "Use Uproar!" Stomping around, Palpitoad shouted at the top of its lungs while sending out soundwaves that required everyone to cover their ears. It was painful to listen to.

"Grass Knot!" Bianca screamed, getting a little overwhelmed even with her ears covered. Panpour's eyes glowed green, before blades of grass sprouted around the water/ground type's feet, tripping up his stomping as he fell over.

"What?!" Clay cried out.

"Now use Scald!" Like with Excadrill, the water type blasted the Vibration Pokémon out of the field, and into the wall, making it faint when the attack stopped.

"Palpitoad is unable to battle! The winner is Panpour!"

"Yay, you're doing so well Panpour!" The blonde complimented with joy. The water monkey was really starting to get the hang of this, and had a prideful look on her face.

"Palpitoad, return. Well I'll be, yer monkey's got more to its name than just water, but skill as well. But a real man never backs down! Golett, let's get to work!" Showing his final Pokémon, it was the same Automaton Pokémon she's battled before. "Use Bulldoze!" Jumping up to stomp on the ground, it gave another shock wave through the ground that crashed into the Spray Pokémon, dealing damage. Getting up, she growled.

"Use Scald, once more!" Panpour created another stream of steaming water, but Clay had enough of that.

"Counter with Ice Punch, both fists!" Its fists glowing neon blue, the ground/ghost type punched the stream of steaming water, even grunting from the effort, but was successfully able to turn the water to ice, creating a ton of steam in the process, blurring everyone's view of the field and Pokémon. Panpour had to stop or risk freezing her mouth as well. The column of ice crashed into the ground. "Now use Drain Punch!" By the time she registered the sight of spiraling green energy, she was already punched in the face by the Automaton Pokemon, painfully grunting as she rolled across the ground. Struggling, the water Pokemon stood up. "Drain Punch, once more!"

"Counter with Shadow Claw!" One fist coated green, the other ghostly black, the two attacks collided, stalemating each other until said attacks exploded. Several tense seconds passed before the water monkey was sent back, crashing into the ground, fainted.

"Panour is unable to battle, the winner is Golett!" Clay laughed at this.

"Ha! Turns out your monkey can't completely pull through, huh?! Though I admit, it's done good 'nough in my book!"

"Thank you. Panpour, return. You did so great. Come on out, Archen!" Returning onto the field was her First Bird Pokemon.

"Ya think we'll lose to a bird? We'll show ya! Drain Punch!"

"Dodge and use Crunch!" Bianca pleaded. The two ran at each other as fast as they could, though Archie met Golett much quicker. Golett tried punching the rock/flying type, but he easily jumped over the attack and clamped down on the Automaton Pokemon, resulting in a final moan of agony before it slumped to the ground, defeated.

"Golett is unable to battle! The winner is Archen, which means Bianca wins the match!"

"Alright!" Bianca cheered.

"Well done Bianca." Ash tipped his hat.

"You're so amazing Bianca!" Rosa shouted to her friend.

"You done good, Golett. Return. You sure got some powerful guts, kid. Let me tells you somethin'. I've hard for years creating this here mine and becoming Driftveil City's face. Are you working hard for your dream?"

"Actually, I'm trying to figure out what my dream is. What to do with my life. But I'm still working hard to find it."

"Well, I hope whatever yer looking for, you find it." Walking up the blonde girl, he offered his hand. She gratefully took both sides.

"Thank you so much."

"Here, you've earned this." He handed Bianca the Quake Badge, two pieces of earth shifted apart like tectonic plates. Bianca showed her new badge to the others, who gave a thumbs up each. However, one of the workers came out of the elevator in a panic.

"Clay! We've got trouble!"

"Huh?! What is it!"

"It's Team Plasma! They've surrounded the place!"

"What?! They're at my doorstep?! Come along children!" They quickly went to the elevator and exited the gym to see they were surrounded by 20 Team Plasma knights, with Ghetsis in the center.

"Clay. It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Ghetsis, of Team Plasma. I've come to pick up my associates who are in your care." He requested with a smug smile.

"Huh?! What are one of them doing here?!" Bianca gasped.

"I'm the sheriff of this here city. My gym also houses prisoners that dares break the law. And ain't no way I'm giving him up to you deadbeats! So I'd suggest you back down or you'll be dreadfully sorry!" Clay refused.

"It seems as if there has been some misunderstanding. We only free Pokémon from wicked people."

"Well whoop de do for you, but don't try to sell me bosh with your flannel mouth, bunko artist. I don'ts care a continental about yer words, given you bulldoze those who don't share yer sentiment."

"I believe you don't understand the gravity of the situation you are in. There's more of us in this city than you know, for we're interested in this city. Are you really willing to risk the saefty of your town over one of my men, sheriff?" Ghetsis asked, saying the title in a mocking tone. Clay growled.

"You must think of you as such a thoroughbred, don't ya? Well, it seems like you've won this bout without throwing down." Snapping his fingers, the worked retreated inside, only to return with the sage, free. He walked over to Ghetsis. "Now git on out of here before I change my mind!"

"A decision worthy of a businessman called the Miner King. Your grasp of the situation is outstanding. Well then, we will be taking our colleagues off your hands..."

"Ghetsis, sorry for my failure." The sage said.

"Don't worry, my fellow servant of the king... We are two of the Seven Sages, are we not? Well then, everyone, I expect that we will meet again somewhere. Especially you." Ghestis pointed at Ash, whom stared with a hard look the whole time. "Our king has a peculiar interest in you. I wonder what he sees in you. But for now, our work here is done." All the knights threw smoke bombs down on the ground, making the rest cough from the smoke until it cleared to show they disappeared.

"Bunch of deadbeat varmints. Sorry yous' had to see that, kids."

"Actually, we've tangled with them before. Especially their king." Ash mentioned. "And I have a vendetta against them."  
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A/N: Sorry it took so long. Valentines day was a free day for me. So, why did I write Alder the way I did? Being all drunk and silly? Well, he sort of reminds me of Jiraiya to an extent, without all the perverseness. So, I figured I'd crank up the trope, 'Crouching moron, hidden badass' of Alder up to 11. Now he's sort of like a combination of Alder, Jiraiya and Master Roshi from Dragon Ball without being a pervert. At least, to levels that those two display. He won't be drunk the next time though. It was just for this time. So, what do you guys think of this chapter? Leave your review down below.


	13. The Sky's The Limit

Bianca, Ash and Rosa continued their journey past Driftveil City, crossing Route 6. Bianca caught a deerling, a deer that changes fur color depending on the season, a foongus which was a living mushroom whom had a pokeball design on the top, and a vanillite, a living ice cream cone. Ash caught a Karrablast. It didn't take long before they reached the famous famous cave nicked named Chargestone, for it's the only cave with magnetism so powerful that rocks rich with natural metals such as iron float in middair, if not get permanently to the walls or ceiling. As they went through battling more trainers, the couple caught even more Pokemon. Ash caught a joltik, a tiny yellow hairy spider, a klink, two living gears joined together, and a ferroseed, a living spike ball that's colored mainly grey with green spikes. Bianca caught a tynamo, the same species Elesa had. However, when they were reaching the end, three ninjas dropped from the ceiling, and were each put in a hold against their will, a gag shoved into each of their mouths.

"...Come..." They simply said, leading them to just before the cave's exit, where N was standing, each of them gasping. Being let go, all three removed their gags. Looking away from the pretty walls, his gaze went to meet Ash's own rage filled ones.

"Ah, yes. That was the Shadow Triad, just now. Ghetsis enlisted them in Team Plasma. You're getting too powerful for our common draft, so we're now hiring elite members.

"What do you want with us?" Ash asked in a threatening tone, but N ignored him.

"Chargestone Cave... I like this place. Formulas express electricity and its connection to Pokémon... If people did not exist, this would be an ideal place. You have been chosen, you know. Does it surprise you I said that?"

"I don't care what you say! You're always talking about something that doesn't make sense!"

"Doesn't make sense? It seems you still don't understand. I told Ghetsis about you and your friends. After I did, he apparently used the Shadow Triad to find out about you. Cheren is pursuing the ideal of strength. Poor Bianca does not have the truth about what her dream is. The third girl...I don't really care who she is or what her ideal or truth is." Rosa looked extremely offended from his apathetic remark towards her. But you...you are not swayed either way-more of a neutral presence. Which is apparently a good thing. Many different values mix together, and the world becomes gray... That is unforgivable! I will separate Pokémon and people, and black and white will be clearly distinct! Only then will Pokémon become perfect beings! Yes, that is my dream! That is the dream I must fulfill! I have to crush your will here!" Without another word, N sent out a joltik.

"Sandile, I choose you!" Ash summoned, bringing out his ground type. With a leap, the yellow spider tried to attack Sandile, but Ash yelled, "Dig!" So he did so. But Joltik was so small, it dived right into the hole, and was able to land a slash on Sandile anyway. A growl was heard, but that was forgotten as a bright white light illuminated the hole until the ground burst open, something much larger came out, striking back at the Joltik, knocking it out in one blow as it bounced to N's feet. When the glowing stopped, the bipedal crocodile yelled out his name.

"Krokorok!" He snarled. Ash was happy, but he couldn't let his enemy get an edge. Sending out his second Pokemon, he released a Boldore, a dark blue rock with red crystals growing from its body on the front and back It had pincer like limbs with crystal to act as feet, standing on three points like a triangle.

"Krokorok, Dig, once more!" The ground/dark type burrowed its way underground again, but this wouldn't be so easy. Boldore gained a metallic sheen, glowing grey before the crocodile made his mark. But the Ore Pokemon's Iron Defense was too much, along with its sturdy ability keeping it in the game. The crystals around Boldore glowed bright orange before beams shot out from them, blasting Krockorok away. He growled from the pain, but looked more ticked off than hurt. "Krokorok, return." Despite the type advantage, he would just keep getting hurt while the pure rock type Pokemon would just keep getting physically tougher. So it might be time for some ranged combat. "Yamask, I choose you!" Now on Ash's side was his ghost type Spirit Pokemon. "Use Calm Mind!" Closing its eyes, he started to glow, letting his power grow. Boldore again glowed with energy as it used Power Gem again, landing a blow, but it wasn't very damaging from the looks of it. "Will-O-Wisp!" Forming blue flames around himself, Yamask sent them at the rock type, burning it. It groaned from the effect. Forming an orange orb, it launched it at the ghost type which exploded. He fell to the ground with a moan, but again wasn't damaged too much. "Hex!" Forming a purple black orb in the shape of an eye, it threw the attack at the rock type, making its own explosion, but this time, Boldore was defeated. Returned after, N sent out a Klick, grinding while floating in midair. "Yamask, return." Once Ash withdrew his Pokemon, he was about to send his ace when N raised his palm to the trainer, halting the battle.

"This battle...is meaningless. I know your Pignite will defeat my friends of Klink of Ferroseed. My friends being hurt. That's what a Pokemon battle is." Tilting his head down, his eyes were obscured by his hat, but Ash could see his evident frown. "Tsk! Why? Is it impossible for me to win while feeling bad about being a Trainer? As if I could pursue my truth with something as meaningless as a battle! As if that could make me worthy to become friends with the legendary Pokémon!" Raising his eyes to meet Ash's he asked the trainer, "Ash, what do you think? You appear to have no qualms about the relationship between Pokémon and people. You may treat them like friends, but when they're not battling with you they're nothing more than trophies. The very idea of a Pokédex revolts me. What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Look, dude, I get it. You have different ideas what people should do with Pokemon. I may not treat all the Pokemon I catch as friends, but who can when you're only allowed to carry six at a time? You may think you're some hero, but the thing is, everybody thinks they're the hero of their own story! But I'm not a hero. It's not like I rescue people from bank heists or burning buildings. I'm just a regular teenager who wants to be the champion, just for the fun of it! To an extent, I get where you come from. I understand part of your reasoning. But you lost any sympathy points when your team stole my Patrat in the Dream Yard! Why can't you just leave people alone and do what they want if it makes them happy, so long as no one's getting hurt, human or Pokemon?!" N's face became dark at that idea.

"You're saying I should just allow people to think whatever they want and treat Pokémon however they want, no matter whether the Pokémon suffer? I refuse to tolerate the existence of a world like that!" The Shadow Triad then leap over the teenagers to surround their king, and disappear in a puff of smoke, gone when it clears.

"That guy really needs to understand that other people are just different in how they act and feel." Bianca sighed, plopping down as her knees buckled, grabbing onto her hat and shaking her head.

"That boy...who is he?" Rosa asked Ash.

"His name is N, and he's the king of Team Plasma. They took my Patrat, and we've exchanged blows ever since, though I fought N when I just started before then when I thought he was just a little off. Everywhere he goes, he only uses local Pokemon, and sets them free when he goes elsewhere."

"I see. And how did he battle without uttering a word? I've never seen something like that."

"From previous experience and what he said, I'd wager he is so in tune with his Pokemon words are not required. He can just convey with facial features and they understand each other."

"Wow. That'd be so cool if he didn't have such a warped perception of Pokemon."

"You and me both." Ash sighed.

"Hey Ash, why don't you scan your new Krokorok with the Pokedex?" Bianca suggested. With a smile, he nodded and took out both to scan it.

Krokorok, the Desert Croc Pokémon. The special membrane covering its eyes can sense the heat of objects, so it can see its surroundings even in darkness.  
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After leaving the cave, the trio soon found themselves in Mistralton City, the only city in the Unova region that had an airport, the area obviously visible with the strip, airplanes, a control tower and at the end, the gym. They even had the luck(at a safe audible distance) to see and hear an airplane doing tricks such as rolls and loops. They all ran towards the city, right to the gym/cargo service. But what they saw was something they never saw before: a line. Approaching a boy in last, Ash asked,

"Uh, what's this line for?"

"To challenge the gym leader, Skyla Geraldine."

"How does she battle this many people in one day?!" Bianca gasped. "There must be over 3 dozen people here!"

"You got me. This is my first challenge too." He shrugged. The plane doing tricks earlier touched down on the tarmac and eventually came to a stop. From the stunt plane, an older teen jumped out of the cockpit when it opened. Skyla Geraldine. She was tanned with auburn red hair put up to resemble a propeller, along with wearing a light blue skin tight suit that showed her navel and shapely thighs while wearing dark blue gloves and boots going up to her elbows and knee caps respectively. She was absolutely beautiful, all the challengers gawking at her revealing outfit, along with quite the prominent bust, big enough for Bianca and Rosa to look down at their own and feel...inadequate for the first time ever.

"Hiya, everybody! It's me, Mistralton Gym Leader Skyla! Otherwise known as the 'High Flying Girl'! And so should youuuu!" She gave a deliberately cute pose that drove the boys wild and drove the girls mad with jealousy. "Now, let's get these gym battles off the ground! So there's 15 of you right now I see! Come on out, number 1!" At first it seemed like Ash, Bianca and Rosa were going to witness what she was capable of, especially when she brought out a Swoobat, a blue bat that still has its cyan fuzz, but now had a visible bat shaped head and a heart shaped snout along with feet, an Unphezant that was colored dark and light grey mostly but with a red wattle around its face that trailed down with red ribbon growths and a green underside, and finally a Swanna, which was a white swan. But to the trio's puzzlement, there was no visual battling. The trainers would show their three Pokémon, and after thirty seconds of Skyla thinking, she would either hand the trainer a badge or deny them. By the third, Ash yelled out in irritation,

"Hey, am I missing something here?! Where's the battles?! Where's the action?! And why are you giving them badges for free?!"

"Hmph, how rude! You're interrupting my schedule. Please make an appointment and talk to me then."

"You think I'd stand for this?!" Hopping over a fence, he got right up in her face, even though she stood over him by a head. "These aren't gym battles, these are handouts to those who hadn't earned them fair and square! I've fought five gym leaders already, and I'm not going to be gypped by a gym leader who's not doing her job right!" That got her enraged just as he was.

"Handouts? Gypped? Doing my job? Are you the gym leader?! I'll do whatever I want since we are our own bosses! We make our own rules, and if I can do air battles, then so be it! After all, what's a girl supposed to do? I want to fly high in my plane, but everyone just kept coming and taking up my free time. Besides, nobody here is complaining! If I know the results, why bother going through all that trouble? Sweaty battles are yesterday's news, so if you don't like it, then you can just leave!"

"Hey, nobody yells at my boyfriend!" Bianca screeched as she entered the screaming match. Rosa was in her rare thinking pose, placing her left arm onto her right elbow while her right was under her chin in a pointing position, thinking about how to resolve this. Then she smiled as she came up with an idea. Walking up to her raging friends, she grabbed them by the collars, quieting them down.

"Alright, we'll leave." She sighed, pretending to be disappointed.

"What?! No way! I'm not done giving her a piece of my mind!" Ash protested.

"Ash, it's clear that you can't change her mind. We might as well just go, especially with apparent how weak she is." Before she could drag them three feet Skyla shouted at her,

"Weak?! You do realize I specialize if flying types right?! I could show you how different we are in skill, like an eagle picking at a worm!"

("Gotcha.") "Oh please, the only reason you don't battle is because your Pokemon must be weak as hell. And if you think of it, flying is a type for wusses." Rosa sneered, having caught the fuming gym leader in her trap.

"What did you say?!" She growled, her teeth practically grinding.

"Well, it may not be as weak as bug or grass, but your type specialty is so fragile. A few sparks, a little snow, a bit of pebbles and boom! You're down! Even a fighting type could beat you if it knew Stone Edge. Just face it, when it comes to your job, you're even worse than economy class." All the rest of the challengers ooooed at her insult, sending Skyla over the edge.

"That's it! No one insults me or my Pokemon like that! I'll show you why I'm the gym leader!"

"Sure, but it's not me you'll be fighting, but Ash here." Rosa pulled him close, looking around to her with a confused expression. "After all, I'm not a Pokemon Trainer participating in the League, but he is. He'll mop the floor with you."

"Alright, I accept your challenge, but if I win, you're hereby banned from my gym, and will never participate in the league again!"

"You're on! We'll be ready in an hour." Rosa accepted.

"Uhhh...what?" Ash asked, feeling like he fell into quite a real pickle.  
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After going through the preparations needed in terms of healing and the appropriate TM upgrades, the battle was about to begin inside of a hanger, with a lot of both excited challengers and fans, the two girls were a little surprised.

"I didn't expect a crowd of this size. I bet a lot of them missed her actually battling." Bianca observed.

"And not only that, but now his Pokemon are equipped to the teeth in the right gear to ensure that he's ready." Rosa stated with determination. An older man walked to the field on the side.

"Welcome ladies and gentleman. Thank you all for waiting. I am pleased to introduce today's challenger, Ash Ketchum. And please give a warm welcome to Mistralton City's gym leader, Skyla Geraldine." A cannon was rolled into the hanger, confusing Ash. Once it was lit, it took a few seconds before it fired, Skyla herself flying high into the air yelling

"Take off!"

"Whoa." Ash uttered, surprised by her level of showmanship. Once she reached the peak of her arc and started falling, a contraption opened up on her back so that she was now gliding with a pair of mechanical wings, flying through floating diamond shaped hoops that were held up by balloons. She even did this while twirling in between each hoop. Once she reached to her half of the field on the left, she dis-engaged the flying machine and gracefully landed with a roll onto her feet, her arms raised high as she posed. The audience applauded her performance.

"Showoff." Rosa scoffed. "No need to make your entry overly flashy, right Bianca?" But the blonde was in her own world as she cheered with them.

"Wow, that was so epicly cool!" Rosa groaned, pinching her nose.

"Alright Ash, time to show me your Pokemon so you can get your air battle evaluation before we really get things going!"

"Alright then. He we go!" Throwing his three Pokemon out, Ash revealed his Pignite, Krokorok(whom now wore just a regular pair of shades since they were cool on him), and Yamask.

"What?! Where the items?! Where's the Pokemon I gave him?! Don't tell me he's..." Rosa steamed from the idea that they went through that whole hour training for this only for the boy to go off script.

"You could attack with Krokorok, but since it's a ground type it'll be unable to touch my Pokemon. Your Yamask may beat Swoobat, but it'll fail to spook my normal type Unfezant, and your Pignite would be unable to withstand the graceful use of my Swanna's water attacks. So your defeat is inevitable." Skyla listed off. Ash's Pokemon growled from being put down like that.

"Yeah right. But first, may I say something myself, Skyla?" Ash requested.

"What is it?"

"I don't really share what Rosa said to you. I think you do have merit as a gym leader. She even helped me make a perfect plan to beat you. But I see that as a little bit of cheating. I doubt you use items, and one of the Pokemon that would've been used would've had a type advantage. It likely would've crushed you, but you wouldn't learn from a beat down like that. So I plan on beating you on a completely even and fair field. No type advantages, no super effective moves, just pure skill and spirit. If I beat you like that, then you really will see the hole in your strategy." This surprised Skyla. Despite having the opportunity to exploit her specialty's weaknesses, he rather went with an honorable decision, if somewhat lacking in practicality considering what the punishment would be.

"Well, thank you for battling in an honorable way. Seems like not all of you three are terrible. But for your sake you'd better win this." She giggled smugly.

"Alright, we will now begin the Mistralton gym battle with my granddaughter Skyla the gym leader vs Ash the challenger. Both sides will use three Pokemon each, and the battle will be over when all on either side are unable to continue. In addition, only the challenger may substitute Pokemon. Let the battle begin!"

"Krokorok, Yamask, return." Ash withdrew his two other Pokemon, letting his starter go first.

"Unfezant, Swanna, return." Skyla did the same.

"Pignite, use Flame Charge!" producing flame around himself, the Fire Pig Pokemon sprinted towards Swoobat.

"Dodge, then use Air Slash!" Flying upwards and back to evade, the Courting Pokemon's wings glowed light blue, before flapping them to unleash a barrage of energy buzz saws that slashed into Pignite's back, causing him to squeal.

"Flame Charge, once more!"

"Air Slash again!" The flying/psychic type dodged again, but this time just barely as he was much faster. Skyla took note of this. Pignite was even able to evade the buzz saws due to his speed. "Acrobatics!" Flying around fast enough to create two after images, Pignite was unable to keep track of it until he was repeatedly rammed into by the bat.

"Run around the field with Flame Charge!" Creating even more flame around himself, hurting Swoobat, he dashed around the field, creating a fiery circle which became large enough for him to hide in it.

"Air Slash, once more!" While it tried to hit its speedy enemy, the slashes just right through the flame. In fact, it seemed to have helped spin it faster. After another Flame Charge, the fire started to rise and surround the frightened Courting Pokemon, caught in a fire tornado. Even Skyla was getting anxious from this. "Swoobat, use psychic to disperse the flame!" Its eyes glowing blue, the fire glowed purple as it took all the flame Pignite created, and blew it all away in a spectacular fashion, creating quite a brilliant visual.

"Jump with Flame Charge!" At his current speed, his jump was like a flaming meteorite heading upwards as he blazed through the air and bashed into the flying psychic type.

"No!"

"Now use Heat Crash!" Hugging his foe, he started falling to the ground surrounded by an orange ball of fire, looking like a sun. They both smashed into the ground resulting in a powerful explosion, everyone having to brace themselves against the shock wave. When the dust cleared, Pignite stood triumphant above the bat.

"Swoobat is unable to battle! The winner is Pignite!" Everyone cheered for the Fire Pig as he threw his arms up and puffed his chest out, before he started to glow white. Everyone went silent as his size grew, becoming much bulkier than before as his arms became much longer, resting on them for support. Tusks grew from his lower jaw as flames burst around his neck. When the transformation was done, he was now orange on his head and shoulders, black along his arms and body with yellow swirly lines, and red along his legs.

"Emboooooar!" He roared with power, since Blaze has been active since Swoobat used Acrobatics.

"Whoa, he evolved!" Bianca gasped. Everyone else either cheered or whispered in excitement at this occurrence. Ash checked out his starter with his Pokedex.

Emboar, the Mega Fire Pig Pokemon. It can throw a fire punch by setting its fists on fire with its fiery chin, having master fast and powerful fire moves. It cares deeply about its friends.

"Swoobat, return. You did great. Unfezant, take off!" Now on her side of the field was her Proud Pokemon. Start things off with Tailwind!" Flipping his wings, he started creating a whirlwind around the arena, making the flying type that much faster. "Now take to the sky!" He then swiftly flew high into the air, way out of Emboar's reach.

"What is she planning?" Ash wondered to himself.

"Now, use Hyper Beam!" Yellow energy started to form around his beak. Ash began to sweat. He had to move quick.

"Emboar, dodge it with Flame Charge!" Producing flame around his body, he zipped around the arena at fast speeds...or perhaps too fast. Once Unfezant fired the ultra powerful blast, it exploded right int the center, where Emboar was just about to run to. He tripped, and with a surprised yell, rolled across the ground until he smashed through a wall. He was knocked out.

"Emboar is unable to battle! The winner is Unfezant!"

"See, even when your Pokemon evolve it's not enough!" Skyla boasted.

"Emboar, return. Oh yeah?! Well don't think you'll get away with it like that!" Yamask, I choose you!" His ghostly Pokemon then appeared. Since he knew that Hyper Beam causes the user to rest for a turn, he had to take his chance. "Head on up and use Toxic!" Floating up to the same general space the Proud Pokemon was hovering at, Yamask's mask opened its mouth to spew purple liquid that coated the flying type. Soaked in too much toxic material, he began to fall.

"No, Unfezant!" Skyla cried out as her bird crashed into the ground. Though he wasn't out as he stood back up, trying to shake the excess off. Yamask floated back down.

"Calm Mind, quick!" Ash instructed. Closing his eyes, he started to glow with energy.

"Oh no you don't! Air Slash!" The flying type sent out a barrage of energy blades that exploded upon contact with Yamask, but he stood his place.

"Calm Mind, again!"

"Air Slash!" Again, the same thing happened. Having enough, he moaned as loud as he could before glowing white.

"A second evolution?!" Skyla gasped. The ghost type became bigger as it became an unusual shape, withdrawing into itself. Once the glowing stopped, there stood a sarcophagus. The top opened up to reveal an obscured face, only showing red eyes and a sharp toothed grin. The sides opened as well to have four black, ghostly arms come out. Two to stand while the other two waved around. Ash scanned his second newly evolved Pokemon.

Cofagrigus, the Coffin Pokemon. They pretend to be elaborate coffins to teach lessons to grave robbers, swallowing and turning them into mummies. They like to eat gold and their bodies are covered in pure gold.

"Wow, two evolutions in the same battle!" Bianca marveled.

"I hope this one can last." Rosa added.

"No matter, we'll win no matter what! Air Slash!"

"Retreat into your coffin!" Ash pleaded. Withdrawing his arms and hiding his face, the Coffin Pokemon took the full force of the Proud Pokemon's slashes, but showed no damage aside from scruffs.

"Huh?! But how?!" Skyla cried out.

"As my Pokedex said, his body is made of gold now. Even though they're technically not steel types, gold can withstand anything wind can throw at it!" Ash explained. Unfezant suffered even more poison damage, making the gym leader growl. "Fine, I guess I'll have to forfeit Unfezant or he'll needlessly suffer. Unfezant, return!"

"Skyla has forfeited her Unfazant, which means Cofagrigus is the winner!"

"Way to go Cafagrigus!" Ash complimented. The ghost type revealed his face again, showing his grin as he chuckled.

"Unfezant, you were great with that Hyper Beam. Thanks. Now my ace, take off Swanna!" Ash grinned as he finally got to meet Swanna. Such a beautiful Pokemon. From what he remembers, Swanna can be used either at close or long range, she he might as well limit her ability.

"Use Rain Dance!"

"Will-O-Wisp!" While Swanna formed an orb of water and shot it into the air, Cofagrigus sent blue balls of fire at the White Bird Pokemon, burning her. She squawked in pain.

"No, Swanna! Fine then, use Hurricane!" Her wings glowing white, she flapped her winds to aggravate intense winds, whipping up a storm. Cofagrigus frowned just before retreating into his body, the hurricane picking him up and sending him way up, "Now mix it in with Bubble Beam!" Shooting many bubbles into the hurricane, the ghost type was being dealt damage by the reckless wind along with the bubbles bashing into him. By the time Hurricane stopped, the sarcophagus fell to the ground, smashing into it. His face then revealed that he was knocked unconscious.

"Cofagrigus is unable to battle! The winner is Swanna!" The White Bird Pokemon spread her wings, cawing in triumph before her burn took its toll, combusting for a second.

"Cofagrigus, return. You did well. Take a good rest. Krokorok, I choose you!" Now they each had their final Pokemon on the field.

"Krokorok!" He snarled.

"Hmph, so what?! I'll beat you with a single Bubble Beam!" She tried to be confident, but he could hear a small trace of worry in her tone. He smiled.

"Krokorok, use Dig!" Burrowing into the ground, Skyla had to be prepared this turn.

"Fly high up, and use Aqua Ring!" Flapping her wings, she tried to gain height, but the burn was slowing her down.

"Use Crunch!" Bursting from the ground, he clamped down in Swanna's neck. She couldn't even screech.

"Quick, Bubble Beam!" Skyla pleaded. Swanna tried to attack, but with her throat clamped down, she couldn't make the attack.

"Dragon Claw!" His claws glowing bright blue, he delivered two swipes to her body, sending her plummeting to the ground, giving out one final cry before smashing into the ground, defeated.

"Swanna is unable to battle! The winner is Krokorok, and the victor is Ash the challenger!"

"Alright!" We did it!" Ash celebrated, running to hug his ground type Pokemon.

"Swanna, return. You did amazing. Great job." Skyla told her ace before looking at Ash.

"Wow, that's so cool his Pokemon evolved twice in the same battle!" Bianca commented.

"That boy's brilliant, isn't he?" Rosa remarked. The two girls looked at each other and giggled.

"I have to admit Ash, I haven't had fun like that for a while. I never would've thought that I'd be caught off guard like that." The gym leader stated, walking towards him.

"Yeah. Regardless of type, never underestimate the Pokemon or its trainer. You're quite decent." Ash returned the sentiment.

"Thank you. You've managed to reignite my love for battling, so no more air battles! Oh thank you so much!" She hugged the boy, unknowingly shoving his face into her large bust, which drove Bianca mad with jealousy.

"There's no reason for her to do that! Sexual harassment!" Rosa had to calm her down since it doesn't seem like she intended it. Letting go of the heavily blushing and disoriented boy, she dug something out of her pocket, handing him a badge.

"Here you go, the Jet Badge!" Giving him the badge, it looked like a light blue feather with a bird flying downwards at the end. Shaking off his arousal, he grinned awkwardly.

"Th-thank you so much."  
\----------------------  
"Ash Ketchum, if I see your face in between another girl's boobies, you're in so much trouble!" Bianca was telling Ash off for having supposedly enjoyed the experience, however short it may have been. Rosa couldn't stop her this time so she just sat back waiting for her to ride the anger out.

"Bianca, I get it, I'm sorry!" Ash tried defending himself, not sure how to calm down his girlfriend.

"Promise you'll never do it again?"

"Yes, I promise! I'll pinky swear it!" He offered, holding out a pinkie.

"Hmph, I guess I can forgive you then." Holding out her own, the two did the pinky swear.

"Alright, now that everything is all good and forgiven, can we please go now?" Rosa inquired, hoping things would move on. Before they could agree, a familiar voice called out to them.

"Hey guys, don't leave yet!" The gym leader, Skyla, ran to them. "I was wondering if I could ask you something."

"What do you want now, to hug my boyfriend some more?" Bianca scoffed.

"Oh, sorry about that. It's it's any help, I have a girlfriend." The tanned girl explained herself. Bianca cooled off rapidly hearing that.

"Oh really? Oh. Oh my. Sorry for that." The blonde nervously giggled, no longer angry in any sort.

"It's okay. So who might the rest of you be?"

"I'm Rosa Mills. I was Nimbasa City's tournament champion until Ash came along.

"And my name is Bianca Schroeder."

"Wait, you're Bianca?!" Skyla gasped. "No wonder Ash did so well! Elesa told me about you Bianca!"

"She did?" The blonde asked confused.

"Yeah. She's my girlfriend."

"You two are girlfriends?!" All three asked in shock.

"I know right? What's a sky high girl like me dating someone who's as emotional as a dead wire? Well, despite personality clashes, we really balance each other out. I'm in tune with my emotions but I'm not exactly the wisest of the gym leaders of course, excluding air planes. Elesa's emotionally detached, but her sense of logic and smarts are super impressive. I help her have fun, she makes sure we don't get into trouble while doing so, and eventually we came to want to be together. But enough about me, I came for a favor.

"And what's that?" Ash questioned.

"Would you like to go to the Celestial Tower with me?"


	14. Ash vs Rosa

It took a good chunk of the afternoon for Ash's and Skyla's Pokemon to heal up, so by the time they reached Celestial Tower, the region's resident graveyard for Pokemon, it was nightfall with dark clouds mulling over. The architecture was somewhere between three to four stories tall.

"Ooooh, this looks really spooky." Bianca hid behind Ash, quivering while shaking her head.

"Don't worry, it's only people and ghost types. They both know me so you should be safe."

"Should be?" Ash questioned, but Skyla was already ahead of herself.

"Let's go!" She entered the building, forcing the trio to follow. It didn't take very long for them to reach the roof which had a bell. And under it, a small Pokemon who appeared to be hurt. "Oh my!" They ran to it, who appeared to be a Litwik, a ghostly white candle with a blue/purple flame lit on its head. "Quick, does anyone have a super potion?!"

"I got it!" Bianca pulled the healing object out and carefully administered it to its injury, healing it all back up.

"Litwik!" It cheered happily, hopping over and hugging her leg.

"Awww, you're so cute!" Bianca gushed as she picked up the living candle and hugged it.

"It appears everything is fine now." Skyla sighed. Looking over the edge and towards her lit up city, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath in. "Don't you just love the feeling of the air? So free, so cool. Even from far away, my pilot's eye can spot anything from a bird's eye view." Returning to the situation, she turned to the group. "Oh right! Since we've walked this far, perhaps we all could ring the bell together? Celetial Tower's bell is for soothing the spirits of Pokemon. Also, the character of the person is reflected in the bell."

"Uh, no thanks." Bianca politely declined. "I have sensitive hearing so I'm not that good with these kinds of bells."

"Rosa and I could do it." The boy shrugged.

"Yeah, could be fun!" Rosa also accepted, but Skyla seemed hesitant with her.

"Uhh...I don't know. You were talking trash about my specialty and skill." The brunette gasped in recollection.

"Oh, so sorry about that! I only said that stuff to get you to battle Ash! I actually think flying types are really pretty! Please forgive me!" The girl looked like she was even on the verge of crying, but the gym leader seems to have taken it in stride with a smile, even with closed eyes filled with embarrassment.

"Oh, so that's it? I guess I might've deserved some of it, even if you did go a little below the belt. And since it worked out in the end, who cares? You can ring the bell as well if you want."

"Th-thank you." Rosa answered while sniffing. Ash and the two girls went to the bell while Bianca took a step back, placing the litwik down and covering her ears. Placing their hands on the metal, Skyla counted down.

"1...2...3!" They gave the bell a mighty shove, resulting in the bell ringing and sending a metallic clang through the air several times before stopping. "What a pretty sound. You are kind, strong people. It's that kind of sound, and I could tell during our chat at the Pokemon Center and the walk to here."

"Yeah. I wonder what Cheren would think about this? Probably way ahead of us by now."

"Wait, does he have black hair and glasses?" Skyla asked. Ash's attention went straight to the gym leader.

"Yeah, you've met him?"

"Met him? He called me a waste of a gym leader before walking, saying he'll be back by the time he earns his seventh badge, and said he hopes I become someone actually fit to be called a leader by then. Left before I could even call him out on it. Don't tell me you bunch are friends?"

"Bianca, Cheren and I have known each other as far back as we can remember. He's always been standoffish, but he was always a friend who only went as far as being sarcastic and snippy. It's only been recently shortly after entering Castelia City that his pursuit in strength made him forget what the true value of an adventure it's in. The journey itself, not the destination. And we're trying to find him, even though he's by now always one city ahead of us by now."

"I see. Well, I hope you knock some sense into him. He's way too serious."

"Well let's head on back to Mistralton City then!" Rosa recovered from her funk. "Bianca still needs her badge, so we should be ready to head out by tomorrow afternoon."

"Sounds great." Bianca agreed, though Litwik started to protest sadly. "Huh, what's wrong Litwik?" It pointed to her bag, then fashioned the flame on its head to look like a pokeball. "You want me to catch you?" It nodded with a smile. "Oh that's wonderful! Here we go!" Taking out a special made variant called a Dusk Ball, she tapped it against the ghost/fire type, turning it into black energy and absorbing it, wobbling a few times before clicking. "Alright! Let's see what you have." She scanned her newest catch.

Litwik, the Candle Pokemon. While shining a light and pretending to be a guide, it leeches off the life force of any who follow it.

"Well, we'll make sure you don't become harmful to others." Bianca stated before the ball teleported away, since she already had six. "Alright, let's head back." Going back down the stairs, along with Ash catching an Elgyem, a grey alienoid Pokemon that floats and has blinking red yellow and green fingertips, they reached the bottom only to encounter N.

"N?! What do you want now?!" Ash snarled, having to encounter him twice in the same day.

"Fret not, for I don't want to fight this time. I just want to talk." He replied, his tranquil face looking more and more unnatural each time they see him.

"What's the point of talking if we're never going to see each other eye to eye?" The trainer retorted. N ignored his answer, but his smile did disappear.

"They may say it is for understanding one another better, but what Trainers really use battles for is to compete... And they hurt each others' Pokémon! Am I the only one who finds this terribly painful? Whatever... I wish to speak with your Pignite. I've been living with Pokémon since I was born, so it's easier for me to talk with them than with people. ...Because Pokémon never tell lies."

"If clarification is what you want, fine then. Emboar, come out." N's eyes widened at facing such a bulky and intimidating Pokemon, but he expressed no fear.

"So you've evolved again. You must be so strong now. Emboar, would you tell me what kind of trainer Ash and his friends are?" The fire starter started grunting, with N nodding every so often. "Born in Nuvema Town...three lived as childhood friends...given the Pokédex to start off a journey to see the world." He then walked a few steps to look at Ash. Emboar trusts you." His smile returned. "That's good. If every person and Pokémon cared about one another like you two do, I could watch over the future of people and Pokémon without having to liberate Pokémon from people who just use them."

"Oh I've heard of you lot, Team Plasma." Skyla gasped.

"Yes, and I'm their king. Ghetsis is using Team Plasma to search for some special stones-the Light Stone and the Dark Stone... These stones hold the essence of two legendary Pokémon. It is said that when they lost their physical form, they fell into a slumber and were transformed. Now, they wait for the hero's arrival... I shall resurrect a legendary Dragon-type Pokémon from one of these stones, and become its friend. That will show the world that I am the new hero. Everyone will follow what I say!"

"Just because you get yourself a legendary Pokemon doesn't mean they'll listen to you." Ash pointed out. "You'd only be a self-proclaimed hero. You'd basically be forcing them to do so, even if you showed them the ultimate truth or ideal." N's smile dropped again.

"My vision is to change the world without using force. Trying to change the world by force will just make others resist. If people resist, the ones that will be hurt are the innocent Pokémon used by foolish Trainers. You understand. Pokémon are not just tools for people to use! As a result... Pokémon and Trainers who care about one another, like you and your Pokémon, will be separated. And that does break my heart a little." And with that, he left, without uttering another word.

"Well he's a few bolts loose an a stable air-craft, isn't he?" Skyla remarked.

"Whatever. I don't want to think about N right now anyway. Emboar, return." So the four silently went back to the city, pondering how N's plan with this legendary dragon.  
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
After Bianca earned her Jet Badge winning with Darmanitan, Excadrill and Archie, the trio continued on their journey until they came to the foot of a mountain. It was then that Rosa spoke up.

"Hey Ash, can I ask you something?"

"Sure." The boy responded.

"Now that all but one of your Pokemon are fully evolved, I was wondering if we could have a battle?" That got both of the couple's interest.

"Really?"

"Yeah. We'll outfit our Pokemon with the best TM's for this, and we'll see who has the better team."

"Oh, this should be fun." Bianca commented with a smile.

"Alright then, I accept your challenge." Ash agreed, looking determined. Rosa grinned.

"We battle in 15 minutes. Once the 15 minutes have passed, the two trainers stared down at each other while Bianca was referee.

"So exciting! Ash vs Rosa! This will be a six on six battle, and the it ends when all on one side are unable continue! There will be no substitutions! Let the battle begin!"

"Emboar, I choose you!"

"Gigalith, get ready!" The final evolved form of Boldore. It's much taller with a lot more orange crystal growing out of its blue rock body, along with two crystal claws on each limb. Both of them were wearing life orbs.

"Emboar, use Flair Blitz!" Crossing his arms, the Mega Fire Pig Pokemon engulfed himself in flame before leaping forward, flying like a missile before ramming into the bulky rock type, pushing him back by several feet. Pretty good offense, but Gigalith wasn't going down that easily.

"Gigalith, use Stealth Rock!" Multiple glowing rocks appear around the Compressed Pokemon, before scattering them around Ash's side of the field.

"Use Hammer Arm! Once the fire has been extinguished, Emboar's right arm glowed white, and it seemed like he'd win, except for,

"Counter with Explosion!" Ash gasped as his fire starter landed his attack, forcing the rock type's feet into the earth, making it crack, but Gigalith started glowing white, and before Emboar could do anything, Gigalith let loose all the power in his body, exploding with the force of several pounds of TNT. As they waited for the smoke to clear, a flame could be heard going into overdrive, as Emboar's blazing beard became larger and more fierce, as he picked up the exhausted Gigalith and threw him towards Rosa's feet.

"Gigalith is unable to battle! The winner is Emboar!" Bianca announced.

"Gigalith, return. You did your part well. So, how was that for an opener?"

"By letting one of your Pokemon blow themselves up?" He asked incredulously.

"He knows he's outclassed by all the rest of my Pokemon. A Stealth Rock lead is just perfect for someone as bulky as him, but he still has attacks if I believe he'll last longer than that. But now is where I really get serious! Zebstrika, get ready!" Once her electric type zebra wearing a scope lens was on the field, she ordered, "Use Thunder Wave!" Sparking with electricity, he zapped the Mega Fire Pig, immobilizing him.

"No! Use Hammer Arm!" Emboar tried to attack, but he was paralyzed by the electricity.

"Now use Thunder!" Crackling with much more electricity, the Thunderbolt Pokemon shot a massive blast of lightning that connected with the fire starter, whom roared with pain until the attack ended, letting him fall onto his face, knocked out.

"Emboar is unable to battle! The winner is Zebstrika!"

"Emboar, return. You did a good job. Rest now. So, I take it you were trying to take out Emboar right from the start, right?"

"Yep. He was the biggest threat to my team, so things are now in my favor." She replied with a confident look.

"Don't think so highly of yourself. Krokorok, I choose you!" Trying to keep with the type advantage, he sent his Desert Croc out, wearing a life orb necklace. He snarled at Zebstrika, but was interrupted by the rocks floating into the air and flying at the ground/dark type, damaging him, but not by much.

"Zebstrika, use Hidden Power!" Glowing white, he neighed as he sent many glowing green orbs at his foe faster than he could evade, and they exploded upon contact, littering leaves and having a nice fragrance.

"A grass type Hidden Power." Ash growled. "Use Dig!" Burrowing into the ground, Zebstrika had no way to attack, but there was another way.

"Zebstrika, use Flame Charge!" Producing flame around his body, he sprinted around the field, trying to make it hard to hit, but Ash got an idea.

"Krokorok, dive around the surface!" With that order, the Desert Croc was like a dolphin, breaching into the air a few seconds before going back into the earth. Even when Zebstrika tried to attack it, he was underground by the time the zebra reached where he was.

("What is he planning? He's just prolonging the inevitable.") Rosa thought as she took her signature thinking pose. Ash then took his opportunity.

"Attack the ground with Brick Break!" With one final flight into the air, his glowing white arm striking the battle field, causing a giant crater to collapse from within, trapping the spooked Thunder Bolt Pokemon in.

"No! Use Hidden Power!"

"Dig again!" Since he was already falling, the Desert Croc Pokemon easily dug through the rocks, dodging the green energy orbs.

"Try to escape with Flame Charge!" The electric zebra tried to run, but the uneven terrain made it very difficult, making him very easy to be hit by Krokorok's attack, exploiting his ground type weakness. He whined before fainting upon crashing into the ground.

"Zebstrika is unable to battle! The winner is Krokorok!"

"Ha, take that Rosa!" Ash laughed. The brunette tried not to let this get to her.

"I ain't done yet! Stoutland, get ready!" Another final evolution, this time being the evolved for of Herdier. The fur around its face pointed both upwards into a three pointed crest, along with plumes of fur so long it reached the back of its body, not that it has to worry tripping over itself given that the blue fur that only covered its back now coated its entire body like a blanket. She wore a life orb.

"Brick Break, once more!" His arm glowing white again, the Desert Croc went on the attack.

"Counter with Ice Fang!" Her teeth glowing neon blue, she bit the arm that was going to attack her, literally freezing the screaming croc in place as his left side became frozen. With a throw, the ground/dark type fell onto his side, fainted.

"Krokorok is unable to battle! The winner is Stoutland!"

"Krokorok, return. Thanks, take a good rest. Carracosta, I choose you!" Of the other two fossils, this water/rock type Pokemon looked like a blue bipedal sea turtle. Its shell appeared to be made of rock along with its face appearing to be a mask. It had flippers that looked mighty strong, but short legs that likely weren't meant for speed. He roared, ready to battle. He wore a rocky helmet.

"Stoutland, use Crunch!" Jumping from rock to rock, the Big-Hearted Pokemon bit down on his left flipper, making him groan, but didn't appear to be that hurt. He then headbutted the dog with his helmet, inflicting damage to the canine as she yelped.

"Shoot yourself up with Waterfall!" Producing water around himself, Carracosta shot like a geyser through the air, taking the normal type canine with him as she was hit point blank from the water attack.

"Stoutland! Use Crunch again!"

"Don't let it! Smack Down!" Taking hold in a way that she couldn't bite anything more than his shell, he threw her down towards the ground. Hitting against the broken ground, yelping in pain, she looked up to see the blue turtle plummet down with a golden orb. Slamming it down on her, a powerful explosion rocked the surroundings, all three of them bracing against the shock wave. When the dust cleared, Stoutland was knocked out.

"Stoutland is unable to battle! The winner is Carracosta!"

"Stoutland, return. Good girl. Thanks for the help. Conkeldurr, get ready!" Her fourth Pokemon, the evolved form of Gurdurr. She looked extremely top heavy, with arms even wider than her body, so she had to use two beams of concrete to support her own weight. Around her neck was a flame orb, which instantly burned her and she combusted, making the Muscular Pokemon yell. But instead of weakening, she glowed red as her power shot to high heights.

"Guts." Ash growled. He wouldn't be able to get near it. But...since he can't substitute, he had to try at least.

"Use Waterfall!"

"Counter with Drain Punch!" Letting go of one pillar, her right fist glowed with spiraling green energy. With a powerful thrust, she managed to completely stop in incoming water missile that was Carracosta in his tracks, creating a shock wave. With such brute force against him, he just fell to the ground, unconscious. She yelled in triumph until her burn injured her.

"Carracosta is unable to battle! The winner is Conkeldurr!"

"Carracosta, return. I know you did your best. Rest easy. Sigilyph, use Air Cutter!" He unleashed his Scope Lens wearing Avianoid Pokemon, whom was damaged greatly by the Stealth Rocks. Its wings glowed bright blue and crossed them before unfolding them to unleash blades of energy.

"Block them with your beams!" Crossing and taking cover behind her concrete pillars, she waited until the attack ended. Looking over, there were deep gashes in the pillars, but still had use in them. "Now use your beams for Stone Edge!" Pointing them at Sigilyph, her main supports glowed white before breaking apart, being fire at the flying/psychic type.

"Dodge them!" It was able to dodge the first of the rocks, but when Conkeldurr aimed them where it would go instead of where it was, it got badly hit by the stones, falling to the ground battered down.

"Sigilyph is unable to battle! The winner is Conkeldurr!" The burn took its toll again on the fighting type as she fell to her hands, but she chuckled.

"Conkeldurr's pretty tough. She's physically my strongest attacker." Rosa boasted. Ash resignedly returned his fallen ally.

"Thank you. You did your best. It's now or never. Stoutland, use Retaliate!" Letting loose his own normal type canine wearing a rocky helmet. The stealth rocks hurt him, but he still growled at Conkeldurr, slightly intimidating her before charging with her helmet down, going to make sure this hurt.

"Use Drain Punch!" Despite the tactic and loss of her supports, she still adamantly raised a fist that glowed with green energy, the two attacks slammed into each other with all their might, but it wasn't enough as Stoutland was still knocked back, having fainted and the rocky helmet breaking apart. He was down in one hit like Sigilyph.

"Stoutland is unable to battle! The winner is Conkeldurr!"

"Alright, you're awesome, Conkeldurr!" Rosa cheered. After Ash returned his Pokemon, he said,

"Thanks Stoundland. Rest now." Sighing he looked up with a defeated smile. "I don't think Cofagrigus would win this alone. Even if he won against Conkeldurr, you still have Crygonal and Scolipede. You win. Well done." He started clapping for his friend.

"Congratulations Rosa, you win!" Bianca cheered.

"Yes! Thank you so much Conkeldurr!" She yelled to her Pokemon with a huge smile. She grinned and gave a thumbs up before the burn hurt her further. "Oh yeah, return. Thanks Ash, that was so fun!" The two ran to each other, and gave a quick hug that wouldn't upset Bianca, and shook hands.

"Likewise. Your Conkeldurr is something else." He complimented.

"Indeed!" They looked up to see the champion, Alder Ray, as he watched high from a cliff before jumping down, landing on his feet, though underestimated how hard he'd land and fell right onto his butt as well. "OW! Ugh, that's the second entrance ruined. What happened to my flair? Anyway, that was a great battle. So many Pokemon you either see way too often or not enough. It was very interesting.

"Thanks Alder, seems like you're not drunk this time." Rosa snickered, but he seemed confused.

"Uh, have we met before?"

"Huh? We met before crossing the draw bridge to Driftveil. You were quite drunk."

"Oh, that time! Yeah, I have no recollection aside from being at that musical party. That was awesome. But anyway, I'm happy to see that you're both growing as trainers."

"Thank you so much. Say, have you met Cheren again? Has black hear and wears a tie and glasses?" Alder's smile dropped a bit.

"Oh him. I complimented him for a fine battle but he says it's only fine for the winner. He worries me, saying that by becoming champion it'll prove of his existence. Reminds me of Marshal. Good guy, but can be a bit stuck up when it comes to strength."

"The reason for that is that he watched one of your tournaments in your prime, and wants to be like you. Or at least, who you were back then." Ash explained. Alder's face became dark.

"I see. This is quite serious actually."

"Why is that?" Bianca asked.

"I'd rather not go into it, but your friend is going down a road I myself regret. You need to catch him, and if you can't stop him in the Pokemon League Tournament at Ventress City, North of Opelucid City."

"But we're always being caught up in these side quests." Bianca pointed out. "Each city we go to he seems farther and farther away."

"I see. Well, it seems like the only way to get him off this track is to beat him. It's important to have a goal in mind, but what's more important is what to do with the power you gain. Don't forget about the needs of your Pokemon at your side. Farewell." Alder than walked off, leaving the trio there.

"Could Cheren be in danger of himself?" Bianca asked her boyfriend worriedly."

"It seems so. We can't get side tracked anymore. We need to find Cheren."  
\--------------------------------------------------------------  
A/N: Uh oh. Don't you just hate it when your best friend goes rouge for power? Oh the cliche of angst characters. Not that he canonically is angsty but I'm sure playing it up. Also, what do you think of Rosa's team? Finally revealed. Stoutland, Zebstrika, Gigalith, Burn Guts Conkeldurr, Speed Boost Scolidpede and Cryognal. Interesting line up, isn't it? Let me know in the reviews down below.


	15. Rise, Reshiram!

The trio spent a couple of days trying to get through Mount Twist, but even with the help of the workers and several signs and maps, the place was rather tricky to navigate. But eventually, they did finally manage to reach the end.

"Finally! I thought we'd never reach this point." Rosa groaned.

"Yeah, travelling through these caves have been killer on my feet." Bianca agreed. But as they came to the end, they saw someone that was familiar to the couple.

"Cheren!" Ash and Bianca exclaimed, rushing over to him. He looked back with an uninterested face before returning his attention to the Team Plasma knight that he just beat with his Samurott.

"Aw great! Not only are you strong, but now you have back up?! This is really bad!" He groaned, but another Plasma knight came to his rescue.

"There you are!" Another knight met up with the first one. "We found what we were looking for! We need to head to the tower!"

"Looks like today's my lucky day!" The first knight said to the teens with a sinister grin. "Let's gather to the king! Our Lord N!" They then disappeared with a smoke bomb.

"So you've finally caught up with me. I thought I could train here for a few days, but apparently that allowed you to catch up." The bespectacled teen sighed as he adjusted his glasses. "Talk about bothersome."

"What, that's what you say to your childhood friends that you straight up abandon for several weeks?" Ash scolded his friend, whom only rolled his eyes.

"You read my letter, right? You were holding me back."

"Cheren, the League Tournament is not coming for another 4 months! This was supposed to be our adventure!" Bianca shouted, tears appearing in her eyes. That left him stumped.

"Oh. Well, my apologies. I was so focused on being stronger I forgot how far away it was."

"That's your excuse? You think you're off the hook just because you didn't think it through and give a half-baked apology after leaving us like a couple of orphaned lillipups?"

"Uhhhh..."

"Cheren, please remember that you have friends! I mean, I could never do this on my own! Dad tried to force me back home! If it weren't for Ash..." The blonde started to cry, pulling her hat down while squatting down, shaking her head. Ash knelt down to hug her.

"Ash, what's this about her dad?" He asked, his face trying to remain stoic but cracks of guilt were seeping through.

"Before battling Elesa, you might say she and her dad had a...family dispute to undersell it. We would've appreciated if you were there to help."

"Oh. I-I see." He replied, a crack heard in his voice. He coughed while tugging his shirt, before realizing Rosa. "And who are you? My replacement or something?" She shook her arms in denial.

"Oh no, no! They didn't replace you! I asked to join them after they beat me! I'm Rosa Mills, Nimbasa City's previous middle-weight champion! That is until Bianca beat me."

"She's the champion of Nimbasa now?" Looking towards his crying friend, that's when it started to really hit him. He not only left his friends who might've needed his help, he left a sensitive girl with autism who he could've supported during her downs and celebrated with her highs. But he abandoned them, especially right after singing that song to calm her down. "Wow. I'm a prick."

"Yes you are. But now that we're together again, how about coming down and cheering your friend up?" Ash requested in a way a no is not acceptable. With a defeated sigh, he knelt down to and placed a hand on her back. The boys started humming the first few bars of "Make a Wish." Rosa stayed back, letting the childhood friends reconnect. The sight reminds her of Nate and Hugh back in Aspertia Town when they'd take care of Hugh's little sister, Amy. Placing a hand to her heart, she thought about her own siblings Hilbert and Hilda.

("Just you wait. When I return, I'll show you how much I've grown.") She smiled. Once the boys were done calming Bianca down, Ash asked Cheren,

"Have you learned anything about Team Plasma while you were ahead?"

"Some. Something about a dark and light stone and how it'll change the world."

Well, in summary, that green haired guy I beat in Accumula Town? He's their king." The raven headed boy's eyes opened wide.

"Really?"

"Yeah. He may not seem like it, but he's more dangerous than he lets on."

"How many times have you met him to know that?

"About three more times. His preference of using only local Pokemon makes him easy to beat, but the fact he only needs facial gestures to communicate in battle makes him unpredictable. Not to mention that every time he appears we're put in a situation in which he gets away before we can do anything after all is said and done."

"Well, we can talk about this later. Let's head into the city to heal our Pokemon." Ash nodded to that. As they headed to the Pokemon Center, Cheren asked, "So, how has your adventure been?"

"It's been so fun!" Bianca replied happily. We got a couple of fossils, we rode a roller coaster together, I finally got to connect with my dad, we met and befriended Rosa, we ate the most delicious food in Dreftveil City, and we rung the bell at Celestial Tower! It was great!"

"Not everything between those have been great but those moments are definitely the highlights." Ash agreed.

"And you say you're traveling with them because you want to?" He asked Rosa.

"Yeah. Since I'm no longer Nimbasa's middle-weight champion, I thought I'd just travel and see the rest of the region I haven't explored yet."

"Hmm. Sure sounds like fun. Wish I could've been there." He responded, adjusting his glasses which showed some remorse. After reaching the Pokemon Center and submitting their Pokemon, Cheren asked his friends,

"Hey guys?"

"Yeah?" Each of them said.

"Since we've left Nuvema Town, I thought I was becoming stronger. More independent. But, I feel like I'm more than just stronger. I think I've...changed? Thinking about what I want to do…thinking about what I should do…I thought Alder was just telling me nonsense, and that it felt like there was nothing. Have I really become stronger, or is it just my Pokemon? I can't tell anymore." Saddened that her childhood friend was all conflicted again, she placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey hey, cheer up Cheren. Isn't it nice that we're all together again? What's brute strength and battle tactics compared to pure friendship? Oh, I know! I remember watching this from an anime one time! I'll be right back!" Running to the counter to talk to the nurse, Rosa asked Cheren,

"Cheren, why would being strong validate your existence? I mean, just because the majority of people that are well known are Pokemon trainers doesn't mean all of them are. I mean, that Bill guy made the PC's and he's not a trainer. And what about company CEO's?"

"That's not really proving a point. All the gym leaders we fought so far have had other jobs. Museum director? Gym leader. Model? Gym leader. Mining sheriff? Gym leader. Even that lazy pilot is a gym leader."

"Actually, I beat some sense into her and now she's taking challenges normally again." Ash commented.

"Oh, cool then. But you get my point. Any person with another profession can be a trainer. But none stand higher than the Champion itself. I wanted to proof that I can become the best, like Alder did before." Before they could continue, Bianca came back with a sharpie.

"Okay, hold out your left hands!" After they each did so, the blonde girl also did so and when completed, their hands showed a happy face.

"You've got to be kidding me." Cheren remarked, unconvinced about the sign she drew.

"I'm serious! Like in that episode, this is a symbol of our friendship! No matter how tough it gets, we'll be there for each other together! Together forever!"

"Yeah, that's what I'm talking about! The power of friendship!" Rosa agreed as the two girls hugged laughing.

"Are you going to go along with this as much as they will?" The bespectacled teen asked his fellow raven headed friend.

"Even if I wasn't, I still think this is pretty nice. And besides, this might even be your punishment for abandoning us." Ash snickered with a playfully devious look. "Now you're going to experience all the friendship you missed out on to catch up.

"Yeah, that's right!" Bianca agreed. "Friendship hug!" Bianca, Rosa and Ash hugged the mortified teen, feeling like he was under unbearable pressure.

"I hate you all."

"We love you too." Ash laughed, making the two girls laugh as well. Cheren's frown grew, but the amount of blushing he was experiencing betrayed that this actually felt nice, if entirely unnecessary.

As they were heading to the gym, the gym leader exited the building abruptly.

"Who are you?"

"Oh, okay. I'm-" Ash tried to answer but he gave the boy a hand telling him to stop talking.

"I know you are there! Show yourselves!" Three Shadow Triad ninja appeared out of the air, shocking the teenage group.

"Impressive, gym leader of Icirrus City. We, the Shadow Triad, are beings of the shadows...and not easily noticed.

"Our mission was only to speak with Ash, but so be it. Ghetsis has a message. Come to Dragonspiral Tower."

"It is then that our Lord N awaits you. Now...our mission is complete."

"Dragonspiral Tower?! What is going on?!" The gym leader demanded, but they disappeared. "Hmmm. Trainers, if you came here for a gym challenge, then you'll just have to wait. I've got to head to Dragonspiral Tower!" He dashed off to the North.

"Ash, if you're going, then we're going too! There's no way that you're doing this alone!" Bianca stated with determination.

"We got your back." Rosa affirmed.

"Even if we weren't together again I would've headed there anyway, so I'm in too." Cheren shrugged.

"Thanks guys. Let's do it!" Ash shouted with a pumped fist.

"Yeah!" The girls did the same while Cheren adjusted his tie and glasses, getting serious. As they raced to the tower, an older man was seen just before the tower.

"Wait, hold on a second!" He said, halting them. "Who are you?"

"We're simply trainers that plans on helping the gym leader deal with Team Plasma. Who are you?" Cheren asked back.

"Me? I'm Professor Juniper-er-the other one anyway. The other one you may know is my daughter."

"You're Mr. Juniper?!" Bianca gasped. "It's so nice to meet you! Thanks to Professor Juniper, I got to go on a journey and start figuring out possibilities for my life! I'm very very grateful to her!"

"Wait, you're Ash, Bianca and Cheren? She's told me so much about you. This is all grand and such...but perhaps we should talk later. Here's the situation. A large group of Team Plasma broke through tower wall and went in. The gym leader Brycen went in after them. But I doubt even he could do this alone."

"Professor, what's the Dragonspiral Tower?" Bianca inquired.

"Ha! I guessed you'd be curious. Very well, I'll explain briefly. Dragonspiral Tower has been here for centuries, long before Unova was founded. On the top floor, the legendary dragon Pokemon waits for a person seeking truth to appear. That's what it says. You did mention you were going to help Brycen, yes?" After they all nodded in agreement, he chuckled. "It's admirable of you to join the fight, but it's risky too.

"Don't worry, we're all really strong! We've beaten them before!" Bianca asserted.

"Thank you. Umm...if it's not too much of a bother, could one of you stay and be like a bodyguard for me? I'd normally have one with me but I didn't think today would be all that dangerous." The professor requested.

"I'll stay. You guys go on ahead." Rosa volunteered. "Be safe, okay?" She stuck her mark hand out, and the others followed suit, Cheren doing so last out of reluctance.

"We will."

"You bet!"

"Whatever." And with that, the Nuvemian teens headed into the tower. But as they entered, the whole structure rumbled, forcing the others to stop until it was over. Especially since Bianca tripped over due to the tremor.

"Bianca, are you okay?" Ash asked her as he helped his girlfriend up.

"Yeah, just a scratch. Let's keep going." They went up to the second floor, but the room was ruined along with the stairs, making the path inaccessible. Or was it?

"We can use the fallen pillars to continue. We just need to be careful." Cheren pointed out. Going as fast as they safely could, they reached the next floor. Brycen was holding them off with his Vanilluxe and Beartic.

"Children?" He asked upon acknowledging them.

"We're here to help!" Bianca replied.

"You two, stay here to hold them off! Let the hero pass through!"

"Hero?" Cheren asked.

"He must mean Ash. N is awaiting for Ash." The blonde answered.

"Not sure what's so special about you, but if you need to go ahead, we'll catch up. What a bother."

"Thanks guys." Ash stated before dashing off.

"Samurott, go!/Come on out, Serperior!" Ash ran past all of the distracted Plasma knights. When he finally reached the top floor without interruption, he spotted N in the room.

"N!" But something that shocked him was the appearance of a white dragon. A long, voluminous wispy mane streams out from the upper side of the snout and outwards from its head. The top of this mane is adorned with two protrusions, which resemble ears. Its face is fringed with spiky features, and it has a small, pointed extension below the chin. Its black eyes had blue irises. Two pairs of pointed teeth were visible from its mouth, one in the upper jaw and one in the lower. It had a long and slender neck, with a fluffy, collar-like protrusion jutting out of two gray, glass-like neck-bands. Its arms started slender and arm-like, but then flare out into a more wing-like appearance, sporting four claws which resemble hands on the leading edge. Plates adorned the back of its "hands", that sport a similar color to its neck rings. Long feather-like protrusions jut out of its thighs. On its feet are large gray claws, three at the front and one positioned at the back, resembling high heels. Its tail is a mass of plume and ribbon-like extensions, surrounded by two large bands, similar to the ones around its neck.

"What do you think Ash?" N asked. "How do you like the beautiful form of the Pokemon that appears before you and fights beside the hero that will lead the way to a new world? Now Reshiram and I will head to the Pokemon League and defeat the champion! This will be the last of the Pokemon battles that hurt Pokemon so. A world for Pokemon alone. It's finally going to be a reality." For once, Ash didn't know what to say. Reshiram started to flap its wings, lifting into the air. "If you want to stop me, then you must become a hero as well! Find Zekrom! Once you're recognized, we will finally be even, and then you can try and stop us. What will you do? If the future that I see is true, you will meet Zekrom. The Pokemon with you believe in you so strongly. Will you be the one who interferes with my formula for changing the world? If you want to protect the bond between Pokemon and people, You must search for Zekrom! I'm sure it's waiting for you in the form of a Dark Stone. Taking a step back, he jumped so that Reshiram could swoop in and he landed on the legendary dragon, flying off to the distance. A few minutes later, his friends and Brycen came up the stairs Ash did.

"Ash, what was that?!" Cheren questioned.

"That was Reshiram. A legendary dragon." He replied, shook to the core of what he just witnessed.

"What do we do now?" Bianca asked, twirling her hands while shaking her head, filled with stress.

"He said we need to find Zekrom. And something called the Dark Stone."

"We should head back. It's important to analyze the situation and figure out what to do next. Brycen suggested. They all did as he recommended and headed back down to the entrance, where Ash explained what happened to Rosa and Professor Juniper.

"Astounding! I never would've imagined the legendary dragon type Pokemon would return now." The older man marveled.

"So that's Team Plasma's goal." A familiar voice let itself be known. They all turned to see the champion, Alder Ray, walk up to them.

"Well if it isn't Alder! It's been a while! Have you been well?" Juniper asked politely.

"There's no time for chit-chat. That fearsome column of fire that shot from the tower...that Pokemon has the power to destroy the world! If It's on Team Plasma's side, and they tell everyone to release their Pokemon, regardless if it's fear or admiration, the world can't help but change. We'll be separated from Pokemon."

"Isn't it dangerous to bring back a Pokemon that powerful?" Bianca expressed worriedly.

"Unfortunately, no other Pokemon could stand up to it, for it is a legendary being. Searching for Zekrom is the only option we have. We can't let them awaken both! I've traveled all over Unova, so I might know where it might be. Quickly, to the Relic Castle in Desert Resort!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Whoo, it's a race against the clock! Okay, so for the sake of what feels like an actual potential end of the world scenario, the two gym battles and elite four will be ignored until the whole Team Plasma thing is dealt with. This is no time to be earning badges or earning the chance to fight the champ.


	16. Catching Up

They raced to the Desert Resort as fast as possible, but found nothing of value. Just Ghetsis rubbing it in their faces. However, they received a calling from the female Professor Juniper to head to Nacrene City ASAP. Thanks to their respective flying Pokémon, this entire part only took four days. By the time they reached Nacrene City, it was nightfall, so technically five. Both of the Junipers were at the entrance.

"Hello children. You kids are sure in some serious business." She worriedly commented. Lenora stepped out holding the same black stone Ash remembered seeing.

"Is this it? Is this really the dragon type Pokémon?" The gym leader asked skeptically

"Oh so that's where it was! I thought it was in the desert resort, but turns out you have it!" Alder acknowledged.

"It has to be the dragon. When I investigated Dragonspiral Tower, I found elements that were dated to to the same era as this Dark Stone." Cedric explained.

"Dad...I looked into that." She said flatly.

"Well, you both did impressive work, as always."

"We're lucky." Bianca spoke up. "'Cause what if Team Plasma noticed it at that time?"

"Good point. They tried to steal the Dragonite skull to revive the legendary dragon, but this is the key. Ash, I'm entrusting this to you, so protect it with your life." Lenora requested as she handed Ash the Dark Stone.

"Don't worry, I'll take good care of it." Ash accepted.

"Ash, if you take that stone, that means you'll be the one to battle N if anything happens to me. Are you okay with this?" The champion asked concerned.

"With my friends by my side, I know I can do this with them by my side." Bianca hugged her boyfriend in appreciation. Everyone else smiled.

"I understand. You are determined to take on this duty. You'll protect the ideal future for us and Pokémon.

"Ash. Bianca. Cheren. Uhh...who are you?" Professor Juniper asked confused.

"Rosa."

"Right, Rosa. We're counting on you. Please take care of yourselves."

"So how do we wake up the legendary dragon?" Cedric asked.

"I know. Go to Opelucid City. The gym leader there is a dragon specialist. Drayden, and his protégé Iris."

"Iris? We met her in Castelia City!" Bianca remembered with a smile.

"Do you now? Then this will be even easier." Lenora grinned to this news.

"I'm going to head back to the lab to do some research." Professor Juniper stated. "I'll see what I can uncover about these dragon Pokémon are and if there is any way to awaken them."

"And I shall head to the Pokémon League to prepare for N. No, more like I'm returning to the Pokemon League. Of course I'll defeat N! I'll teach him about the beauty of the world where trainers and Pokémon live together in harmony! Here's a note saying you're needed so that the gate keepers can let you in the league this one time. Wish me luck." And with that, the main group continued their journey to Opelucid City, taking another four days. Upon arrival, they found a city that seemed to be rich with history, for it's one of the oldest cities of the Unova region, the buildings make of white stone and the streets made of light grey earthen material. Trees decorated the sides of the streets. But alas, the view was ruined as there was a crowd with Ghetsis preaching to them.

"That's correct! Our lord N has combined his power with the legendary Dragon-type Pokémon and intends to create a new world. We herald the return of the hero of Unova, founder of this region." The people whispered amongst themselves. "Pokémon are different from people. They are living beings who contain unknown potential. They are living beings from whom we humans have much to learn. They are beings whose greatness we should acknowledge! Beings who should be freed from our oppression! We, Team Plasma, invite you to join us! We all want to create a new world where people and Pokémon are both free! Ladies and gentlemen, I ask you now... Please, release your Pokémon. And so I end my plea to you today. Thank you one and all for your attention." Team Plasma then packed their things, and left, leaving the crowd to wonder what to do.

"What a bunch of liars." Cheren grumbled as he adjusted his glasses. "Desperately conning people with their speeches of solidarity."

"Hey, I recognize you three!" They turned to see Iris approach them. "It's good to see you guys again!"

"Iris, you know these people?" An older man asked, his snow white beard weirdly styled so that it covered his mouth like a lower jaw, leaving the real one underneath hidden.

"Yeah, it's those three teens I told you about down in Castelia City! Oh wait, I don't know your names! What are each of you called?" She asked.

"Axew!" Her little Tusk Pokémon poked out of her hair.

"I'm Ash."

"Bianca. Nice to meet you again."

"Cheren."

"Rosa. I believe this is the first time we met since I wasn't in Castelia City at the time I think. Nice to meet you."

"It's a pleasure to see my young protégé making friends. My name is Drayden Morris."

"Wait, are you two related?" Cheren asked.

"Well, not by blood. You coooouuuuld say he adopted me but we didn't go through papers or anything. He found me, I was an orphan found in the woods by him annnnnnd ya." Iris shrugged.

"Not like I needed to do the paper work anyway. I am the mayor of Opelucid City after all, that and everyone loved Iris when I showed her around. So she was accepted before any paperwork has been considered. So, what brings you four here to my city?"

"We came to talk to you because you're both dragon specialists. We need to know everything about the legendary Pokémon, Reshiram and Zekrom." Ash requested.

"I see." Drayden said, crossing his arms and stroking his beard. "This must have something to do with what that Ghestsis character has been talking about. There's something he simply doesn't understand. The cooperation of people and Pokémon is how Unova came to exist to begin with. If a Pokémon really didn't want anything to do with humans, it would simply leave. Capturing Pokémon in balls doesn't mean capturing its heart. Its soul. But back to your request, you have an interest in them, since their king has reawakened Reshiram."

"And he wants Ash here to battle him with Zekrom to see which one has the stronger conviction. Truth vs Ideals." Cheren explained, adjusting his glasses.

"Oh no! Those two dragons get along so well!" Iris cried out.

"Why don't you all come to our home? We'll tell you everything we know about the two dragons." Once they made it to the mayor's home, Ash took out the Dark Stone and said it was Zekrom. "I see. Zekrom, who will awaken from the Dark Stone, and Reshiram, were once the same Pokémon."

"That single Pokémon and the twin heroes of Unova brought a new region into being. And people and Pokémon had happy lives!" Iris added.

"One day, however... The twin heroes, the older brother who sought the truth, and the younger brother who sought ideals, began to argue about how to decide which one of them was right... The single Dragon Pokémon that had been with them all that time split its body into two. One sided with the older brother, and the other with the younger brother."

"In its pursuit of truth, Reshiram sought to usher in a new and better world. Zekrom sought ideals to usher in a new world. A world of hope."

"Because the two of them were once the same entity, their battle raged endlessly and neither one could be declared the winner. They simply exhausted themselves. The twin heroes proclaimed that there was no one side that was right and ceased the conflict."

"But the two heroes' sons started the battle again! And an instant later, both legendary Pokémon destroyed Unova with fire and lightning! Then they disappeared! But if people and Pokémon work in the right way, we don't have to worry anymore about the world being destroyed. I mean, Reshiram and Zekrom worked hard for everyone and made a new region! So it should be alright, I think?"

"Axew." Her little Pokémon agreed.

True. Pokémon cannot speak. People may hurt Pokémon even more by imposing their selfish thoughts on them. But, no matter what, Pokémon and people believe in each other, need each other, and will continue to live together..."

"Yeah! I'll never forgive Team Plasma for trying to separate Pokémon from us!" Iris growled growing determined.

"And that's everything we know." Drayden ended the topic.

"Wait, so there's nothing on how to reawaken them?" Cheren questioned.

"Unfortunately, we do not. But If I had to guess, then appearing before Reshiram should awaken Zekrom. It's clear to me now. N views himself the hero of truth. But you Ash are also a hero. A hero of ideals."

"Wow Ash, this is almost like some big destiny stuff here! Who thought you, or rather anyone could be the chosen one in this day and age?!" Rosa commented, both in a look of awe and her signature thinking posture in her current chair.

"Tsk, would've been better if I was the chosen one. Then again, I'm not sure I would've wanted all this bothersome responsibility even if being the chosen one sounds really important and cool." Cheren complained.

"Well it's not like I wanted it." Ash argued. "I'm just a trainer who just wanted to compete in the Pokémon League. I never thought I was the kind of person that could save the world and such."

"Nobody ever does." Drayden stated. "Those who do either have the purest of intent in their heart, or illusions of grandeur in an attempt of self-proclaimed importance. But even though you are just an ordinary trainer, as you yourself are implying, you choose to carry the Dark Stone regardless. Why is this so?"

"Well, I first had a beef with them because one of their knights stole my patrat. I still haven't found him. With each encounter with either Team Plasma or N, they spouted about their so called truth, but it's not right. Even if something is true, it's not always the ideal outcome, nor should the outcome justify the means getting there if the method is wrong."

"Spoken wisely. And I believe that's why you're the hero of ideals. Even in the face of truth, you propose a different idea if the truth is not optimal."

"He's right." Cheren spoke up. "Couldn't have said it better myself even if I tried. I would've just told N to shut up and beat him down in a battle."

"I also don't approve of his means and ends...but I wouldn't have any idea how to properly object to it either aside from saying "But that's bad!" Bianca admitted.

"I'm not much of a philosopher, so I'd be stumped too." Rosa shrugged. "But you knew precisely what to say Ash. You are the hero of ideals." Ash sighed. "Well, if I have no choice, than I have no choice."

"What will it accomplish to separate the worlds of people and Pokémon? The way we live now, with different beings understanding and forgiving each other, is much richer. That's my belief. No go. The fate of the world depends on it." Getting out of their seats, the teens left the mayor's house, now on the way to the Pokémon League. Once they showed the gate keepers that they had special clearance to get to the Pokémon League, it only took a couple of hours via their flying types to reach what looked like a temple behind the league. Before heading up the steps, Cheren adjusted his glasses and tie.

"No matters what happens...we must stay strong and true to ourselves. For our Pokémon, and for everyone else depending on us."

"For our friends." Bianca added.

"For our family." Rosa said.

"And for the livelihood of our relationship of Pokémon and people alike. Let's settle this once and for all." Ash declared. Each of them held out their marked hands. The markings were fading away, but the smiley face was still distinguishable and their drive has been invigorated.

"Ash, may I talk to you for a second?" Bianca asked.

"Sure." They walked away from their two friends so they could talk quietly. "What is it?"

"Ash, I'm hopeful. I'm really, really hopeful, but I don't know if this could be the last time I'll see you again. I know N doesn't seem like the kind of person to hurt you, but I'm worried about those sages and Ghetsis himself. I just want to say that I love you so much." The blonde started to cry." You've made this journey so fun and it's really shown me what I could possibly do with my life. Dad finally understand me, I have so many new idols and friends, it's just...so wonderful." She took a couple of steps to hug her boyfriend. "I just wanted to make sure that all that needed to be said was done so." Smiling, he hugged her back.

"Thanks. Hearing you say all that...really helped boost my mood. Just as much for everyone else, I'm going to save the world for you." He started running his hand through her short hair. "I will make sure what we made hasn't been in vain. I promise you that." Raising her chin with his fingers, they kissed a solid good 10 seconds before they separated.

"You guys good?" Rosa asked.

"Yeah. Let's do this." Ash replied as they ran up the stairs and entered the temple. By the time they met N and Alder, it was too late. N was laughing in triumph.

"It's over! Never again will Pokémon be made to suffer or be held captive by humans. It's all thanks to my friend, Reshiram! You may have the title of Champion… But you can't stop me with just a title. Your soft heart has left you weak. Years ago, you lost your Pokémon, your partner, to sickness. In order to forget the pain in your heart, you wandered Unova… Who knows how long it's been since you've had to fight with your full strength? I actually kind of like that about you, though. As a Trainer who far outmatches the Champion, I shall issue an order across Unova: Trainers of the world, free your Pokémon!"

"No! I beg of you! Anything but that!" The champion pleaded, but his words fell on deaf ears.

"You and I both put our beliefs on the line and fought with all our strength. And I won. Do not say another word." Noticing Ash and friends before them, he turned to his audience. "...I've been waiting. In the future I envisioned, you obtained a stone. And, indeed, you have. That Dark Stone...Reshiram is responding to it. Stop. This is not suitable for the legendary dragons! From the ground, rise up! The castle of Team Plasma! Surround the Pokémon League!" The ground started to shake, and a loud rumble reverberated through the temple, loud enough Bianca had to crouch down and cover her ears, squinting her eyes shut as she was becoming overwhelmed. Ash, Cheren and Rosa surrounded her to protect her. From around the Pokémon League, many sides of an interconnected castle erupted from the ground, surrounding the League in a half mile long and thirteen stories high, reaching higher than the peak of the temple they were in. From each side, black mechanical stairs extended out and smashed through the temple walls, providing many entry points, the middle back being the biggest and tallest. When the loudness was over, the teens opened their eyes to see the stairs surrounding them. Debris surrounding them and some of the pillars have been smashed. "What has just appeared is Team Plasma's castle. The king's words will resound from the heights to all below. You must come to the castle, as well. Everything will be decided there. Whether Pokémon will be liberated from people, or whether Pokémon and people will live together… We will see whose belief is stronger... And our result will change the world." Walking up the stairs, the group went to help Alder.

"Mr. Alder, you're a wreck. That's not very fitting for a champion." Cheren pointed out. Indeed, he was covered in dust and pebbles.

"So you've made it. People grow stronger with humans. To separate them..."

"Mr Champion, please don't move too much." Bianca tried to help out of concern.

"I...I lost. I should've been able to demonstrate the bonds between me and my Pokémon. But I've been slacking this whole time. His convictions are strong. Be careful children. The ones who change the world are the ones who follow their dreams. Ash, let him know nothing good will come from his goal." Alder begged, looking broken, yet hopeful.

"I will." Ash responded. Each of them ran up the stairs and entered the castle. Inside were six of the Sages.

"Those in accord with fate are preserved, and those who rebel against fate will perish." One said.

"When the way is forgotten, duty and justice appear." Another added.

"One can lose the forest for the trees."

"If you make a mistake and do not correct it, that is your second mistake."

"Superior men understand what is right. Inferior men will understand what will sell."

"There are not two suns in the sky, nor two sovereigns over the people."

"If anything would happen to our king, it would be disastrous. It would ruin Team Plasma's plan! Our Lord N will be disappointed, but the six of us shall defeat you four here!" Each of them unleashed a Pokémon, for a moment like this. From left to right, they revealed a Garboder, a Scolipede, a Seismitoad, a Darmanitan, an Excadrill, a Klingklang, and a Krookodile. They were about ready to defend themselves when a Texan accent cut through the attention.

"Can ya manage that, you bunch of yellow-bellies?!" The teens turned to see all but the Striaton gym leaders come to back up Ash and friends. "What ya standing there gawking, kids?!"

"Clay Horton, and the seven other gym leaders." The fire sage gasped.

"Sorry we're late, darlings." Lenora apologized. "But now that we're here, it's time to open a can of butt-whooping on them! We're stronger than you lot, and outnumber you seven ways to Sunday."

"Ignoring Team Plasma...that would be a terrible thing for gym leaders to do." Elesa retorted.

"We got the heads up from Professor Juniper. The triplets are here, but they're taking care of Alder downstairs." Burgh explained.

"Accursed gym leaders! Your champion is beaten! You don't know when to give up, don't you!" One of the sages accused.

"That may be true, but the day we roll over and have our plows cleaned without a fight is the day we hang it all, but you'll have to clip our horns first!" Clay challenged.

"Stubborn people are the worst. We'll show you how much we can dazzle you with our might." Elesa stated.

"We have been, and will always be together with Pokémon! And ain't nothing going to change that!" Lenora defied.

"Tell me, what do your Pokémon say? If they fight their best for you, why would you want to discard them?" Burgh questioned.

"No way we'll lose! Let's show them Drayden!" Iris shouted with vigor.

"Well said Iris. Go, we'll hold them off." The dragon type specialist told the teenagers. Nodding, they ran ahead and ran up through each story, fending off knights along the way. Eventually, they reached the top floor, and the final doors. Ghetsis stood in between them and the door.

"Ghetsis!" Ash yelled in anger.

"Welcome Ash Ketchum, holder of the Dark Stone. The castle that appeared as if it were enveloping the Pokémon League is a symbol. It means Unova will change. The king of this castle is the strongest in the world. Not even the other champions stronger than Alder could face against Lord N. He's accompanied by Reshiram, the embodiment of truth. Added to all that, his heart burns with the desire to improve the world. If that's not what makes a hero, then what more do you need?"

"How about the consideration of others?" Ash countered. "As I've said when we first met, it's not like everyone is a trainer. Some keep Pokémon as pets. The Pokémon may have even wanted to do so before a person asked. If you separate Pokémon from those kind of people, then not only are you doing something a majority of people object to, but you're even forcing your belief onto groups people don't even fit in there. N may have a dragon of truth, but truth is relative. One man's truth is another's lies. Only by cooperating and working together to reach a common goal will both people and Pokémon thrive." Ghetsis sneered at the boy with a sinister smirk.

"And have you met a lot of these people along your journey?" He asked. Ash couldn't respond except for one thing.

"Just one young girl and a mother."

"See? Even though you had all this time you haven't met more than two people, while you battled likely over a hundred more. We need to extend this to everyone, because the minority that don't need this are too small and insignificant to not proceed with our plan. Now that the stage is set, we can seize people's minds and hearts. I've been waiting so long for this! I've kept my silence so no one could piece together what I've planned! Now those painful days are at an end! Go onward and meet your destiny Ash. Discover whether you have what it takes to be a hero!" He stepped aside, giving Ash the chance to battle the king.

"We're with you Ash." Bianca assured, placing a hand on his back.

"All the way to the end." Cheren agreed, doing the same.

"Yeah!" Rosa did as well.

"Thanks guys. Let's beat N."


	17. Black and White

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ash vs. N, and then Ghetsis.

Ash, Bianca, Cheren and Rosa entered the throne room, a large and long room where the sides were filled with crystal clear water and pillars. The path was covered by a royal blue rug that extended all the way back to the throne, where N sat, resting his head on his hand.

"What I desire is a world for Pokémon, and Pokémon alone. I will separate Pokémon from people, so Pokémon can regain their original power." He sat up from the throne and walked down the rug, towards the group. Towards Ash. "It's time to settle this once and for all! My determination is absolute! I will prove the value of my beliefs even if it means my Pokémon friends get hurt! Since you've come this far, I believe you are equally determined. If that's so, prove it to me! Show me the depth of your determination!"

"If I must." Ash accepted, walking closer to N as well, until they reached a respectable battling distance.

"You came all this way to battle me...but Zekrom is not responding. You haven't yet been recognized as the hero, have you? How disappointing. I actually kind of liked you a little. Through our many battles, I got the feeling that you might be a Trainer who truly cares for Pokémon!"

"Don't you dare question my loyalty to my Pokémon!" Ash shouted in outrage. "The reason I fought most of your organization up to this point was because you people stole my patrat! And as soon as you told me you were their king, I swore to stop you at all costs."

"And yet you face me without Zekrom's aid? Your determination might be as absolute as mine, but without Zekrom, you're nothing but a boy who came from a small town who wanted to become champion just because you felt like it. You're no hero." N shook his head in disappointment. "I was kidding myself. The idea of Trainers getting to know each other through battles is ridiculous! You have two options. Challenge me to a fight you can't win, or leave this place and watch the birth of a new world where Pokémon are free of people!" He rose his hand up high. "Reshiram, come to me!" With a loud growl, Reshiram smashed through the wall behind the throne and said throne as it flew until it reached a small distance behind N, landing with enough weight and force to crack the tiles beneath the rug. Its tail started to glow yellow and orange as its emotion and power went into overdrive. With a roar, it instantly evaporated all of the pooled water in the room, a pillar of fire surrounding itself. Bianca had to again crouch and cover her ears in fear and overstimulation as the legendary dragon asserted its dominance for a few seconds before the fire went away. The room was hot and the steam from the evaporated water plumed out of the hole it made to allow everyone to see clearly again. Something began to tremble from inside his backpack. Taking it out, Ash gasped as the Dark Stone started to float, producing a black aura. It started to spin at an increasing pace, going faster and faster while a blue aura shined underneath the black aura over it. The air around them started to circle around like it was a tornado inside the throne room. It instantly flashed black and blue light, blinding everyone as a figure formed within said light. Its head sports a thundercloud-like crest tipped with light-blue coloration. There are six pairs of pointed teeth visible when its mouth is open, two in the upper jaw and four in the lower. At the base of Zekrom's neck is a black, stud-like feature, and atop its shoulders are similar, larger features resembling armor padding. The bases of its wings also have such padding, and a fanned, splayed, seemingly webbed shape with a small "wing-spike" on one edge. The lower length of Zekrom's arms extenuate into splayed, seemingly webbed, somewhat baseball-mitt-like formations, with three-clawed, dark-colored hands on the undersides. The front portion of Zekrom's waist is black-colored, with its belly and thighs having thin striations down their length. Its knees are black, as are the foremost parts of its three-clawed feet and spiked heels. Zekrom's tail consists of large, round, conical and spiked formation, likened to an electricity generator, with a black inner portion and bands on the tip of the outside portion. It opened its eyes and spread itself wide, falling to the ground to crack the tiles just like Reshiram did right in front of the group. It gave a thunderous roar while its tail started to glow neon blue, powering up with electricity comparable to lightning storms. Electricity surrounded the legendary dragon as lightning shot out in all directions, except for the humans and Reshiram. Once all that was over, the room remained silent until Bianca asked,

"Is it safe to uncover my ears now? That was too loud." She complained. N was fascinated by the appearance of the black electric dragon.

"Zekrom and Reshiram… They were once one life. One Pokémon. Complete opposites, yet the same. Zekrom and Reshiram are Pokémon that appear before the hero they recognize." N then smiled and chuckled for a bit. "Looks like I misjudged you. You really are a hero, too. Zekrom has recognized your power and now agrees to stand by your side. Tell him, what is your ideal? Speak wisely, Zekrom will bare its fangs at people who fail to follow their ideals."

"My ideal. My ideal...is to protect our current way of life, so that both people and Pokémon live in harmony, and are not forced to separate their Pokémon due to a misguided truth." After careful consideration, it simply nodded, accepting the answer.

"Now that it has accepted your answer, I will create the future I desire! I shall sweep you before me!" N declared.

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" Ash countered. Flapping their wings, the two legendary dragons took to the sky and smashed through the ceiling to begin their aerial battle.

Forming an aquamarine ball of draconic energy, it fired at its black counterpart, but it dodged. Its forehead glowing blue, Zekrom rammed into the white dragon, dealing the first blow.

("So that's Zen Head-butt.") Ash thought to himself, recognizing the move.

"Do you really think you can stop us with that?" Reshiram wasn't deterred as its claws glowed bright purple and slashed against its fellow legendary, dealing major damage, and yet so did Zekrom, dealing even more physical damage as the white dragon howled. Following up on its attack, Zekrom's tail glowed blue with electricity, surrounding itself with yellow lightning, and slammed itself into Reshiram, pushing it back. "So that's Bolt Strike. We'll just return the favor." From its mouth, an intense yet beautiful blue stream of fire was created, blasting the Deep Black Pokémon away with a fiery explosion. Sensing that things were going to wrap up faster than expected for the two dragons, each trainer shouted,

"Fusion Flare/Fusion Bolt!" Reshiram formed an orange ball of fire surrounded by two rings while Zekrom generated blue lightning in the shape of an orb of violent electricity, and flew towards its kin. By the time the white dragon began to fire, the black dragon charged into the fire attack, creating a blinding light once again as they created an explosion so big that they blew the clouds away, revealing the sky. Bianca had to cower again, squatting and closing her ears again. From the light, the two legendary Pokémon fell from the sky, crashing into the stone floor with their great weight. "So, like in the past, they couldn't overcome each other. Nonetheless, if the dragons can't sway who the winners is, I'll just use my team instead.

"You're kidding, right?" Ash chuckled, before actually laughing at what N proposed. "I've beaten you handedly each time before. What makes this time any different?"

"I can't give up this time. To not give this my all is to deny everything that brought me here. Either I beat you with everything I have, or fall to your conviction. This battle will decide everything!"

"Then let's get to it then, N." Ash accepted. "Emboar, I choose you!" He summoned his Mega Fire Pig Pokémon. N, without uttering a word let out his own Carracosta. Producing water around himself, the water/rock type shot forward with Aqua Jet.

"Counter with Hammer Arm!" His right arm glowing white, he managed to stop the foe's momentum with a mighty strike, though skidding back a few feet. Despite the super effective move, the Prototurtle Pokémon did not faint. Generating even more water, it grabbed hold of Emboar's sides and took it for a ride up into the sky out of the throne room with Waterfall, dousing the fire type even more. But instead of defeating the fire starter, his beard blazed even hotter as the Mega Fire Pig roared with power.

"Yeah, use Hammer Arm!" Ash commanded with a smile. Using his beard of flame to burn Carracosta away and to let go, Emboar grabbed his head just as they started to fall. With his arm glowing white again, he roared as they smashed into the ground below, picking up a lot of dust and debris. With a punch, the water/rock type was punched out of the obstructing cloud, knocked out. Frowning, N returned his Pokémon to set loose his Archeops, a prehistoric yellow bird that had a red and green neck leading to its same colored face, rapidly flapping its blue and yellow feathered wings. Using his superior speed, he used Acrobatics to overwhelm Emboar and slam into the fire starter. Unable to take the further damage, he fell down defeated.

"Emboar, return. Krookodile, I choose you!" Next was his powerhouse, the Intimidation Pokémon. It traded its brown color with maroon to better fit with its black color scheme along with a grey underbelly. It had a very long snout, perfect for ripping things to shreds with its teeth.

"Krookodile!" He snarled, his look even more imposing with the shades it was wearing along with the life orb dangling in a necklace. When Archeops started going fast again, creating two after images, Ash ordered,

"Escape with Dig!" Burrowing underground, Krookodile made sure that Archeops had nothing to hit as he stopped flying around and just flapped in the air. "Crunch one of its wings!" Bursting from the ground, he indeed chomp down on of its wings, making him shriek in intense agony as he was forced down and even rolled around as the ground/dark type did so. It tried to escape by using Dragon Claw against its biting enemy, but the damage was minimal as he just simply responded with his own Dragon Claw, dealing much more damage and thus defeating the First Bird Pokémon, he threw Archeops away and roared as he ability increased his power. N returned his Pokémon to then reveal a Vanilluxe, basically two Vanillish that got stuck together like Magnemite making Magneton. While it tried to prepare for Blizzard, which instantly lowered the temperature of the room, Ash pleaded, "Dig, once more!" He managed to dig his way out of a certain freezing just in time thanks to Ash's quick thinking. After Ash's side of the ground was frozen, the Snowstorm Pokémon then glowed bright blue while giving a shriek, making dark, thick clouds appear overhead. Hail started to fall around them, making the terrain even more hazardous. Krookodile lunged through the ground and bashed into Vanilluxe, shaking some of the snow off its body with a powerful slam. "Brick Break!" His large tail glowed white, and he swished it around to knock the ice type back even further with the super effective attack. It crashed onto the ground right before N's feet, unconscious. Krookodile's power grew even more with his proxy ability. N withdrew his Pokémon and brought out Klinklang. It attacked first this time by making an orange orb, the attack called Hyper Beam. It fired, blasting at the Intimidation Pokémon, creating a powerful explosion, forcing everyone to brace from the shockwave. As the steel type powered down a bit to recharge, Krookodile swept his tail around so that the smoke no longer obstructed his view. He snarled at the steel type, before grunting from the hail. "You survived! Great, now use Brick Break again!" Again, the ground/dark type managed to K.O N's Pokémon, and growing more powerful for it as he roared again.

"My last friend, please share your courage with me!" To everyone's surprise, he let loose a Pokémon that's considered rare and unusually hard to find, a Zoroark. Zoroark is a bipedal, gray-brown, fox-like Pokémon with crimson and black accents. It has a pointed snout and ears with red insides. Zoroark has a large, red, voluminous mane with black tips, which somewhat resembles a ponytail, as a teal bangle down its length separates a mass of the mane from the lower portion. It has a black ruff on its upper body, pointed at the shoulders from which its arms extend. Its upper arms are thin, whereas its lower arms, while still slim, are bulkier. The arms have spiky extensions of fur at the elbows, and it has red claws on its hands and feet. Zoroark's eyes are red-rimmed with light blue irises. Placing her hands together, she formed a ball of light blue energy, and launched it at Krookodile.

"Counter with Brick Break!" Swishing his tail, he tried to swat it away, but the damage Klinklang dealt him along with the power of the Focus Blast was too much for him to overcome, and became overwhelmed, yelling in surprise as it exploded against him, causing another shockwave. When the smoke subsided, Krookodile stood there, glaring at the fellow dark type before groaning, falling forward onto his front, defeated after doing such a great sweep.

"Krookodile, return." Ash said. "You did so great. Thanks buddy. Cofagrigus, I choose you!" Ash let out his ghostly Coffin Pokémon, wearing a rocky helmet. The Illusion Fox Pokémon's claws glowed bright purple before sprinting up the ghost type and slashing across his golden body, causing him to moan, but not before he rammed his helmet in Zoroark, dealing back damage in retaliation. "Use Toxic!" He spat out a stream of purple sludge that drenched the dark fox, making it hiss. "Cofagrigus, return. Sigilyph, I choose you!" For last, Ash brought out his Avianoid Pokémon. Ash knew Zoroark would try to use Night Slash again, so he ordered, "Fly up and use Air Cutter!" Flapping its wings to get out of the dark type's incoming reach, the flying/psychic type crossed his wings, glowing neon blue before unleashing a bright blue X the exploded upon contact with the Illusion Fox Pokémon.

"Is the world going to choose you, and not me?!" N gasped. When the smoke and dust cleared, Zoroark was still standing, but when the poison took its toll, it hissed and fell back, defeated. "Everything's ruined. The truth I held...the dreams Pokémon shared..."

"Alright Ash, you beat him!" Bianca cheered, hugging him from behind.

"That was awesome Ash!" Rosa complimented, slapping him on the back.

"You really did it." Cheren spoke, pushing up his glasses with a smirk.

"Reshiram and I were defeated." N uttered, drawing the attention of the group. "Your ideals...your feelings...they were stronger than mine it seems. Zekrom and Reshiram... Each of them choosing a different hero… Is that even possible? Two heroes living at the same time: one that pursues ideals and one that pursues truth. Could...could they both be right? I don't know. It's not by rejecting different ideas, but by accepting different ideas that the world creates a chemical reaction. This is truly the formula for changing the world." Ghetsis walked up to N from the group's direction, passing them by with a disapproving frown.

"After all of that, do you think you're still worthy of sharing the name Harmonia with me? You good-for-nothing boy!" He slapped him across the face, causing him to fall in a pained gasp.

"Hey, don't hit him!" Bianca cried out. "Even though what he was doing was bad, he was only doing what he thought was right!" Ghetsis turned to her.

"Ignorant girl. To start with, I spurred N into pursuing the truth. The reason we reawakened the legendary Pokémon now was to give MY Team Plasma more power! Power to control the fearful masses! That at least was well done." Turning to N, he continued to scold his adopted son. "After saying you had to put your beliefs on the line and battle to see which one chosen by the legendary Pokémon was the true hero... You lost to an ordinary Trainer! There is such a thing as being too stupid! Add it up, and you are nothing more than a warped, defective boy who knows nothing but Pokémon..." He then turned to Ash. "Ash, I never would have thought the legendary Pokémon would choose a Trainer like you! It caught me completely off guard."

"You're not the only one." Cheren scoffed.

"Silence! This doesn't change my goal. My plans have not been disturbed! In order to rule this world utterly, in order to manipulate the hearts of people who know nothing, I will have N be the king of Team Plasma. But, for that to work, you- since you know the truth- You must be eliminated!"

"Rule the world? Wasn't Team Plasma's goal to liberate Pokémon?" The bespectacled trainer questioned.

"That was just a convenient lie that I needed to create Team Plasma. Use your head. What's to be gained from letting go of useful things like Pokémon? Certainly, manipulating Pokémon helps people expand their possibilities. That much, I can agree with. So it naturally follows that only I should be able to use Pokémon!"

"Now that's just ridiculous!" Rosa argued. "Even if you were the only trainer in the world, you'd still be hunted down and have all the world's governments after you to apprehend you."

"You can say whatever you want. A Pokémon, even if it's revered as a deity, is still just a Pokémon. And with Zekrom too weak to stop me, you're nothing more than just an ordinary trainer to me as of now. So what if it chose you Ash if it can't defend you! That doesn't mean you're a threat. Come on! Now you'll face ME in battle! I can't wait to see the look on your face when you've lost all hope!"

"Not so fast, Ghetsis." Cheren denied as he stepped between Ash and Ghetsis. "If you want to get to him, then you'll have to get through me. Ash technically has never beaten me, so I should be a better challenge than Ash."

"I won't allow anyone to stop me! No matter who does what! Go, Cofagrigus!"

"Let's go, Excadrill!" Cheren had his own Subterranean Pokémon like Bianca did. "Shadow Claw!"

"Protect!" Ghetsis demanded. Withdrawing into itself, the ghost type formed a green forcefield that blocked the ground/steel type's attack. "Now use Psychic!" Opening up his face, his eyes glowed, creating a blue outline around the surprised Excadrill, before he was thrown back, landing roughly on his back. He grunted in annoyance.

"Use Dig!" Burrowing into the ground, Ghetsis repeated his order.

"Protect, again!" Forming the green barrier, he waited for the opponent to strike.

"Now!" Bursting from the ground just before the green forcefield, Excadrill soared and landed right on top of the shield, just before it gave out. "Shadow Claw, both hands!" Producing black aura around its steel claws, he gave two good swipes across the Coffin Pokémon's body. Even with his superb physical defense, he couldn't withstand the powerful blows back to back, and fainted.

"Return. Go, Bouffalant!" Up next was a normal type Pokémon that looked like a combination of a bull and buffalo, and a giant afro surrounding its head with horns poking through.

"Use Dig." The ground/steel type did so, but Ghetsis smirked.

"Counter with Bulldoze!" Rearing up his front legs, he slammed his hooves down to create a shockwave through the ground. Excadrill was blown out of it in pain like the ground was water. He cried in pain.

"Excadrill, return!" Cheren said quickly. "Let's go, Scrafty!" Cheren let loose a dark/fighting type bipedal orange lizard like Pokémon, It had big eyes and an opening mouth showing teeth, giving Ghetsis a sneer. It has a red crest on the top of its head like a mohawk, and it was holding up the loose yellow skin around its legs.

"Wild Charge!"

"Dodge with High Jump Kick!" As the Bash Buffalo's afro glowed red, both Pokémon moved as Bouffalant charged and Scrafty jumped. Thanks to his powerful legs, Scrafty was easily able evade the incoming attack on the ground. "Now!" Extending his right leg, the Hoodlum Pokémon stuck against the normal type's side, dealing a critical blow. Bouffalant whined as he smashed into the ground, defeated.

"Return. Go, Seismitoad!" A bulky blue frog like creature was shown, cyan colored lumps all over its body and a big fat belly.

"Return. Bianca, tag with me!"

"Oh, ok!" They each slapped hands and she replaced him.

"Hey, switching turns is against the rules of a Pokémon battle!" Ghestsis scolded them.

"Please, you're a bad person who wants to take over the world! Rules don't apply here! Come on out, Serperior!" The blonde countered while summoning her grass snake.

"Rules don't apply? Fine then, I guess I won't follow them either! Go, Bisharp, Eelektross!" Bisharp looks like a bipedal, humanoid Pokémon with a war helmet shaped head with two bladed axes coming out of its head. It looked like a red and grey living blade display. Eelektross on the other hands looks like a floating electric eel with clawed arms and a mouth like that of a leech.

"Eep! Guys, a little help?!" She requested. They joined her.

"Don't worry, we got your back! Gigalith, get ready!"

"Rosa revived him, so we should be good. Krookodile, help Serperior!"

"Four against one? Not so good for him. Scrafty, we need your help again!"

"Muddy Water, X-Scissor, Flamethrower!" Seismitoad spewed out a stream of brown water while Eelektross produced fire from its mouth.

"Scrafty, Rock Slide the Muddy Water!"

"Gigalith, protect Serperior!" While the Hoodlum Pokémon caused rocks to block the Muddy Water hitting Krookodile, Gigalith got in front of the Regal Pokémon and tanked the Flamethrower head on, including Bisharp's X-Scissor from right above, resulting in an explosion, yet surviving thanks to its sturdy ability.

"Good work Gigalith! Sandstorm!"

"Brick Break!" Ash told Krookodile.

"Leaf Storm!"

"High Jump Kick!" Scrafty used Gigalith as a platform to jump off just as the Compressed Pokémon created said sandstorm as requested, obscuring the battlefield. Undeterred by the sands, the Intimidation Pokémon's tail glowed white before he smacked away the Sword Blade Pokémon, fainting from the 4X effective move instantly. Serperior as well created another kind of storm made of leaves and sent the barrage right at the slower Seismitoad, unable to escape and also falling in one hit due to the 4X weakness. Unfortunately, Eelektross was able to evade Scrafty's kick, rendering the attack useless and inadvertently hurting the Hoodlum Pokémon.

"Blast you trainers. What is going on here?! I will! Not be defeated! By a bunch a bunch of! Stupid teenagers! Go, Hydreigon!" His last Pokémon was quite the fearsome sight to behold. It's colored blue and black with fuchsia colored stripes and flares around its body and surrounding its three heads respectively. Its arms acted as the necks for the two other heads and flew with six slightly curved black wings. Its tail just barely touched the ground. "Eelektross, Acrobatics! Hydreigon, use all your three moves!" Even though they were slowed down a bit by the bothersome sand, Eelektross was able to blitz and defeat Cheren's Scrafty with the flying type move while Hydreigon prepared three moves at once: Focus Blast, Fire Blast and Dragon Pulse right to left and fire them all at once. The teens had to brace and were even blew them all back by the collective attacks combined, creating a giant explosion. When they recovered, all the Pokémon hit were knocked out at once. "Do you see now? Your Pokémon are nothing compared to mine. Might makes right, and I'm the mightiest! I am perfection!" Ghetsis screamed.

"Oh yeah?! Well let's test that theory! Guys, let's keep it up!" Ash recommended.

"Yeah!" Returning their Pokémon, they respectively sent their Cofagrigus, Darmanitan, Cryognal and Samurott. They all shouted at the same time,

"Cofagrigus, use Toxic!"

"Darminitan, Will-O-Wisp!"

"Cryognal, Blizzard!"

"Samurott, Megahorn!"

"Eelektross, Wild Charge! Hydreigon, do the same thing as before!" Eelektross was able to move first and tried to slam its electrified body into Cryognal, but Darmanitan took the hit first, protecting the ice type and expelled ghostly blue fire from its mouth all over the electric/ground type. Due to the attack, the glowed and reverted into its Zen Mode, becoming part psychic type. Cofagrigus also took his chance to poison Hydreigon, but it roared as it fired all of its moves at the incoming Samutott, keeping it at bay with its triple attack. But it had no way to counter the ice type that managed to slip behind it and blast the dark dragon with a barrage of snow and ice, freezing it over.

"Blizzard again!"

"Flamethrower!" Bianca pleaded.

"Hex" Ash shouted.

"Return! Unfezant, use Air Slash!" From the jointed attacks of the heroic trainers, Rosa's Cryognal and Ash's Cofagrigus beat Hydreigon with another ice type combined with a ghostly eye exploding all the ice surrounding it while Darminatan and Unfezant overwhelmed the electric eel Pokémon with a fire and flying type attack combo, beating it as well. Through the power of teamwork, they managed to defeat Ghetsis, and Team Plasma.

"Yay, we did it!" Bianca cheered as she hugged her boyfriend, along with Rosa, both girls laughing in celebration. Cheren sighed with a smile as he adjusted his tie and pushed his glasses up.

"My calculations... No! My careful schemes! The world should be mine!" They turned to the outraged Plasma leader. "I created Team Plasma with my own hands. I'm absolutely perfect! I AM PERFECTION! I am the perfect ruler of a perfect new world!"

"Oh shut up!" Cheren complained. "Nobody wants to hear your bothersome babble anymore! You lost, so just accept it and surrender!"

"N, is this really what you wanted?" Ash asked the conflicted boy. "Do you really think people and Pokémon should be separated, and led by someone like him?" N turned away, unable to answer. Ghetsis however started to cackle, possibly from madness at this point.

"Mwa ha ha! Since I couldn't become the hero and obtain the legendary Pokémon myself... I prepared someone for that purpose-N! He's nothing more than a freak without a human heart. Do you think you're going to get through to a warped person like that?!"

"I said shut up! We're not going to waste anymore time on your useless rambling! You're the one without a heart, to treat someone who could be considered your son nothing more than a puppet!

"Yeah, you're nothing but a no good bad guy!" Bianca agreed.

"Truly pitiful now that you don't have any legs to stand on." Rosa shook her head in disapproval.

"My life..." N uttered, tears trailing down his eyes despite his smile, which was quivering and threatening to break. "My life...has been nothing but a lie. I'm no hero. I'm just a bully...who believed in a cause that wasn't real."

"N, just because your cause had no meaning, doesn't mean you were strictly in the wrong." Ash told him. "You truly cared for Pokémon kind, and were doing so because you wanted to stop abuse and wrongdoings against them. Even if the methods were wrong, the intent and goal is admirable. I think...that's why Reshiram picked you. Despite being misguided, you believed in a type of truth that you believed would help everyone. Of everything you did, I can't fault you for having a heroic sense of truth and idealism. It's not as black and white. Despite the types of dragons we have, we embodied the other aspect as well. You had an ideal world of what Pokémon could have, while I knew the truth on what things actually are based on evidence. Things aren't black and white. The world is grey, and it's the people in the grey area that makes the world a place that's both good and bad. But by working together with each other and Pokémon, everyone can have a happy ending. So with that...what are you going to do now?" N looked down, and considered his words.

"Do you truly understand me? Up till now, we've been fighting each other over our beliefs! So despite that, why?!"

"Even if we don't understand each other, that's not a reason to reject each other. Even after Cheren returned, I still don't completely understand why he abandoned us for strength...for power...but I never forsaken him. He's our friend, and we're his friends, and our friendship is stronger than any disagreement we may have." Ash looked to Cheren, whom looked away, but nodded in agreement.

"Ash, can I have a word with you? Alone?" N requested.

"Sure. Guys, can you take Ghetsis away?"

"Sure. Take all the time you need." Bianca accepted, kissing his cheek before the three surrounded the fallen leader, and took him away. N walked up to Ash, so that they were only a few feet apart.

"Ash, there's something I need to tell you." N started to walk towards the back of the throne room towards the hole, with Ash following. "It's about when I first met you in Accumula Town. I was shocked when I heard what your Pokémon was saying. I was shocked because that Pokémon said it liked you. It said it wanted to be with you. I couldn't understand it. I couldn't believe there were Pokémon that liked people. Because, up until that moment, I'd never known a Pokémon like that. The longer my journey continued, the more unsure I became. All I kept meeting were Pokémon and people who communicated with one another and helped one another. That was why I needed to confirm my beliefs by battling with you. I wanted to confront you hero-to-hero. I needed that more than anything."

"So that's it? I didn't fit your world view?"

"Yes. There's no way a person like me, someone who understands only Pokémon— No, actually… I didn't understand them, either. No way could I measure up to you, when you had met so many Pokémon and were surrounded by friends…"

"Well, if you'd like...we could be friends N." Ash proposed. N turned to him in shock.

"You'd forgive me? Just like that?"

"You didn't know any better. You were doing what you honestly thought was right, like I said. And now that you know how things work, you could start over and begin a new life, and that could begin with us as friends." The raven haired boy explained. After a moment of silence, N chuckled, closing his eyes.

"You never cease to amaze me." He walked up to the hole. Reshiram finally was able to stand up, along with Zekrom. You've forgiven me, but I must decline being your friend. At least right now. I have a future for myself now, and I need to decide what that will be for myself by myself." Reshiram flapped its wings and went out through the hole. "Ash. You said you have a dream… That dream…make it come true. Wonderful dreams and ideals give you the power to change the world. If anyone can, it's you. Farewell." He jumped on his dragon, and flew off, heading towards the sunset. Ash watched N go, wondering if-no...when their paths will meet again. Turning to Zekrom, he asked it,

"What are you going to do? After a day like this, I just want to sleep." Zekrom walked up to Ash, and used its left arm to nudge at his bag. "You want me to catch you?" Nodding its head, Ash smiled. "Okay then." Taking out an Ultra Ball, he captured the embodiment of ideals after three wobbles and a click. Looking out at the sunset once more, he went back, to be with his friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, that went by quickly. It took me 44 chapters to reach the end of Platinum. But this took less than half. Talk about a time crunch, or whatever it is. Thanks to all those that read my story up to this point. I'm going to take a break from this story to think about what I'm going to do for the post game. Should I write about the capture of the remaining sages? Should I skip all that and go straight to the Pokemon League and have Ash and friends participate in the Pokémon League tournament so Ash(or one of his friends)challenge the Elite Four and champion Alder? Leave a comment on what you thought of this amazing chapter and what I should do next. Bye.


	18. Seeking the Sages

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ash and Bianca look for the six sages.

Waking up in his bed, Ash yawned as he sat up in his bed. It's been nearly a week since he's taken a break from his journey of traveling and training his Pokémon, having gone back to Nuvema Town. Not only was he and his friends the hottest things to talk about because they saved the status quo of human-Pokémon relations, but the fact he and Bianca were a couple as well. Bianca loved it, because she was no longer simply known as the delicate town citizen with autism, but a powerful female trainer on par of the best gym leaders and Pokémon League. Her home life also improved in the given time in that Damian is taking active steps to understand his daughter more, and her mom embracing the new peace in the household. Ash smiled at that. However, not everything stayed the same. Cheren and Rosa stayed the first couple of days, Rosa especially having a blast being where they grew up and playing all the childhood games they did, including Cheren as well. But alas, they had to leave. Rosa had some assistance with Professor Juniper to get an updated trainer's ID fit for competing in the Pokémon League, and Cheren went off to do some more training. The bespectacled teen assured them he'll keep in contact and focus on more than just strength, but since he's still behind on his journey, he needs to catch up and make sure he's in tip top shape for the tournament. Especially since he, Bianca and Rosa accidently let him go after the Shadow Triad created an opening. Not wanting to get in the way, the friends went their separate ways, promising each other to meet up again along the way.

Stretching and putting on the proper clothes on, he went downstairs to see...two of his mom?

"Uhhhh...Mom?" The young trainer was unsure how to process this information. With a knock and an enter, Bianca entered the house, always welcome to enter when she wished now, and spotted the two Ketchum mothers. However, this only seemed to have confused her slightly without making her smile disappear.

"Hello Mrs. Ketchum! Oh, is that your twin sister? I didn't know you were twins."

"Incredible, really." The doppelganger said, a smirk on her face. "Amazing, absolutely, to be meeting such legendary people in the flesh, one who holds Zekrom itself! Behold, for under this disguise, I am..." She threw her clothes off to reveal there was a man underneath, trench coat and all. "...the globe trotting elite of the International Police! My name...ah, no, I shall inform you of my code name only. My code name, it is Looker! It is how I am called!"

("Who?") Ash asked himself, having never heard of him.

"How did you fit your trench coat into Mrs. Ketchum's clothes, or you yourself since you're taller and wider?" Bianca questioned, now more thoroughly confused.

"Nevermind that now. Behind the scenes in this region of Unova, an organization of Team Plasma conspires..."

"Yeah, they were around, but I beat them, and each of the gym leaders helped arrest them. You're a bit late there." Ash retorted, reaching out to take an apple and biting into it.

"Yes, but it seems the sages have escaped!" Ash spat out the apple pieces as everyone yelled,

"What?!"

"Yes, that is what I heard, most certainly! But however! However but...the Seven Sages, still, hide themselves in the Unova region. There's only one airport and two shipping marinas, and they're all closed down as of right now with none of the mentioned reported as seen before yet. And so, in the end, it explains why I must ask this of you, Ash Ketchum and Bianca Schroeder! Travel the Unova region and search it up and down for the Seven Sages! Alder Ray, the champion of renown, has recommended both of you, along with Cheren and Rosa, though they appear to be gone. Still, are you willing to help me?"

"Of course! We can't let there be a chance that Team Plasma revive themselves!" Ash blurted out.

"I'll help too! With each other by our side, we can do anything!" Bianca accepted as well.

"Excellent! I thank you, fine children! Now I feel as if perhaps I have a million people on my side! I have a list of locations that the sages have been spotted at." Handing a note to Ash, he went to the door, then turned to them while opening it.

"It is you two I'll be depending on!" Then he left.

"People from the International Police are kind of...unique, are they?" Delia asked, uncertain of the detective. "Ash, are sure you want to do this and not the police?"

"Mom, I defeated their king. If the guy who had a dragon type legendary couldn't beat me, then they likely won't even put up a fight when I find them. This will be merely just a scavenger hunt for us." Ash explained.

"Oh, a scavenger hunt for bad guys! That sounds so exciting!" Bianca shouted with excitement as she went to hug her boyfriend.

"Well, okay sweetie. Just be safe." Delia accepted, if still a bit nervous.

"Don't worry mom. We'll be okay. I love you!" Ash replied while they exited the house.

"Love you too!" She yelled back. As they stepped out into the Spring air, the blonde girl asked with a joyful smile,

"Okay, where is the first sage, detective Ash?!" Ash laughed at her enthusiasm.

"Hold on, hold on. We're not detectives. I mean, we have a list on where each sage has been last seen. Okay then, from the looks of it...!" Ash paled from this. "..one of the sages was spotted near Marine Island?!"

"Marine Island? Isn't that the-"

"Island off the shores of Route 2 and practically right next door of our town. We gotta catch him now!" Bringing out his Sigilyph and took to the sky.

"Hey, wait for me!" Bianca pleaded as she summoned Archie, having long ago evolved into Archeops and followed suit. They landed on the island within minutes, keeping their Pokémon out just in case. But that didn't matter when the sage, Rood, let himself be exposed, with no Pokémon.

"Children." He greeted.

"It's you! What are you doing here so close to our home?! Ash questioned.

""It smells of the sea here. This place has the same ocean smell as where I was born."

"Wait, is this where you were born?" Bianca asked, genuinely interested.

"Err...no. Just the same ocean smell. Ghetsis wandered the lands of this world all over, collecting knowledge of all kinds while searching for like-minded people. From the moment we met, he understood what I desired. The ability to understand the minds and the needs of others…this is an ability that everyone needs to survive. My lord N is a kind and excellent person who understands the hearts of Pokémon. But, conversely, perhaps his ability to understand the hearts and feelings of people is not developed enough. But… Even that was part of the perfection of Ghetsis's plan. When it comes to Ghetsis, I cannot separate the truths from the lies. Like how he lied to me. Someday, if my lord N develops the ability to understand the feelings of people as well as Pokémon, I would like us to gather again. More than anything, I want to see N confront Ghetsis." From behind the teens, Looker also let himself be seen.

"Ah... And now, about Team Plasma... I am an officer of the International Police, and there are so many things you must tell me at once!"

"If that's what you wish." Rood agreed with a nod. Looker then turned to Ash and Bianca.

"Accept my thanks! Now, Ghetsis notwithstanding, there yet remains but five of the Seven Sages still at large. What is it they are thinking, what it may be they are hoping, this is the information I pursue. Until we meet again!" He took Rude and left in a hurry.

"So even some of the sages have been disillusioned by Ghetsis's lies." Ash pondered out loud.

"Do you think Team Plasma could return?" Bianca asked.

"If so, I hope it's because N is doing so by the right means this time. His truth, or ideal is noble. He was just raised by a bad man who raised him to be what he thought was a perfect king. Now that he knows, Team Plasma may be the team it's always been trying to preach." Thinking about the organization and the remaining seven sages, the trainer raised his arm to contact his friends. He waited until the call picked up. "Cheren, Rosa?"

"Hey Ash, how are you and Bianca doing?!" Rosa asked, filled with joy in getting a call.

"We're doing good, thanks for asking!" The blonde girl replied, trying to get in Ash's shot as well.

"So what's up?" Cheren inquired, pushing his glasses up.

"A detective came to us earlier this day, and we're hunting the rest of the seven sages.

"The rest escaped?! The raven head trainer cried out in shock.

"And just when we thought we heard the last of them! What are they doing?" Rosa asked.

"Hiding. We've been assigned to find them, and already found one on Marine Island. Detective Looker has already apprehended him.

"It's a scavenger hunt!" Bianca told them.

"And you wish for us to find some of them for you? How troublesome." Cheren complained.

"Maybe just one for each of you. Where are you guys at?"

"Nimbasa City. I was just about to challenge Elesa to a battle."

"Tell her I said hi!" Bianca requested, perking up hearing the gym leader's name.

I'm at Driftveil City."

"Okay. There appears to be a sage hiding near the two cities you're in. If you can apprehend them for us that will make things go by quicker.

"Will do." Cheren nodded.

"You can count on me!" Rosa cheered.

"Thanks. Bye." Hanging up after they said bye, Bianca beamed with happiness.

"I can't wait to see Elesa again! She's so cool!"

"Yeah, but let's keep our focus. The next sighting is in the Dream Yard. Let's go." Ash recommended, and the two took flight again. It took a couple of hours before they reached Accumula Town, and went to the East to find the Dream Yard. Turns out that unlike last time, they found a basement underneath the ruins, and unlike above, no one was down here. Keeping Sigilyph and Archie out, the two teens explored the underground rooms of disarray when one of the sages jumped out.

"Boo!" The couple screamed while their Pokémon came in between the sage and kids protectively, looking angry. The man laughed amused. "Ha, were you surprised? Oh Ash and Bianca, I was quite surprised by you on that day last week. If you surprise them, both Pokémon and people leave themselves open. While they're in a state of surprise, they can't use their powers like they normally would. Our intention was to surprise people by making our castle appear and showing off Reshiram...at that moment, we planned to deeply impress people's hearts with the awesome power of Team Plasma and the brilliance of our new world. But now that I've seen the strength of spirit in you and the Gym Leaders, I wonder how effective that strategy would have been, after all. Maybe that strength of spirit is what's needed to take Pokémon to the next level?"

"Of course. You can't just convince people there's a better way because you said so, even if it were the truth. There's always going to be someone that believes in a truth that's always worked, rather then a truth that may be better, but at the expense of a great cost." Ash argued. Gorm chuckled.

"Hmph, you're wiser than you should be. But it appears my viewpoint is passed now. A single fallen leaf signals the start of autumn. We know our history, so now we can't change the future." It was then that Detective Looker burst out from a box, having hidden there.

"Indeed! I am an officer of the International Police, and I demand to hear all you know about Team Plasma!"

"Of course then. I'd just like to say one last thing before leaving." Turning back to Ash, he told the young trainer, "My lord N's dream... You were the one who put a stop to that. Please don't ever forget that. Musharna is said to appear here. Its Dream Mist makes you see dreams, but they are nothing but illusions. The dreams you realize with your own abilities are the real dreams." Ash nodded to this, understanding his sage like advice.

"Thanks many times over! Now, Ghetsis notwithstanding, there yet remains but four of the Seven Sages still at large. The thoughts they are contemplating, the hopes they are anticipating, these-these are what I want to know! Until our next meeting!" He then took Gorm away.

"I hope he doesn't do that every time." Ash sighed, getting a little tired of his popping up and leaving already.

"I'm sure he's going to give one to our friends once." Bianca chuckled awkwardly.

"Well, with that out of the way, time to find sage number three." But it was then that their thoughts were interrupted by his transceiver started ringing. Answering it, Professor Juniper was online.

"Hi there! How are you two doing?!" She asked, stationed inside of a tent.

"We're doing good professor. What might the occurrence be?" Ash asked. Her trademark smile dipped.

"I've heard you and your friends are on a hunt for the sages, and I think I've found where one of them might be."

"Oh really? Where?"

"The Desert Resort where the ruins are. The one where you chose your fossils?"

"Oh yeah, I remember the place!" Bianca gasped. "Exactly. I saw two knights guarding the entrance, so I thought I'd warn you."

"Thank you so much Professor. We'll get him. Over and out." Hanging up, the couple got back onto their Pokémon, and took the whole afternoon reaching to the destination in mind, shortly after 6 pm. Upon reaching the entrance, the knights recognized the trainer that defeated their king, and scrambled inside, realizing they were outmatched. This time bringing out their Carracosta and Serperior, they searched through the ruins until they found the room where they met Ghetsis yet again, but it appears to be filled with a lot of sand, and a door that was not noticed before was now reachable, so they went through it. Eventually, they found a group of three Team Plasma knights.

"What are we going to do?! He defeated our king!" One of them argued.

"It doesn't matter! All we can do is buy time for Sage Ryoku! Now fight we me!" The middle knight sent out a Krookodile, while the others summoned their Liepard and Watchog. The couple looked at each other and smiled confidently. Ryoku stared at the majestic fire moth, Volcorona, whom flapped its six wings, prepared to defend itself when the knights and their Pokémon burst through the doors, attacked by a Waterfall and Leaf Storm combo. Ash and Bianca stepped through with their Pokémon. Ryoku sighed as he turned to them.

"I was planning to catch the Pokémon called Volcarona that lives in this Relic Castle and present it to Ghetsis. But the Shadow Triad said that Ghetsis has gone somewhere, right?"

"Last I heard." Ash replied.

"The Seven Sages... We always said we were complete when the seven of us were together. Now I don't know the meaning of those words anymore. I guess I don't mind, even if we were being used, but the dream is over. This Relic Castle and our own castle are both crumbling... But what's different is that this Relic Castle is the remains of a civilization. And our castle left nothing behind..." Even though the old man said he didn't mind, his face betrayed his words, looking sad and disappointed. That is until Looker came in again.

"Regarding Team Plasma... I am an officer of the International Police, and you must supply the information I request!"

"Understood. But we don't know much about Ghetsis or our lord N. We haven't even figured out if they are father and son..."

"You can tell me all about it when you're in the interrogation room." Turning to Ash and Bianca, he looked really overjoyed. "Truly, I thank you! Now, Ghetsis notwithstanding, there yet remains but two of the Seven Sages still at large. Their innermost thoughts, their uttermost hopes... These I must and shall discover! Once more, a brief farewell!" Like the two times before, he left, taking the sage and knights with him. Turning to where Volcarona was, it also disappeared, using the distraction to its advantage.

"Two?" Bianca asked.

"That must mean our friends found one of the sages near them. Let's head to Nimbasa City and talk to Rosa." And so they did, though not before taking a much needed long rest near the entrance of the ruins, sleeping overnight till 9:00 in the morning, and with the help of their flight capable Pokémon, was able to reach the entertainment city within an hour.

"Man, flight capable Pokémon sure are handy. Thank you so much for helping me Archie!" Bianca hugged her First Bird Pokémon, whom squawked with appreciation.

"Thank you too Sigilyph." Ash petted the Avionoid Pokémon. "Return. Let's see how Rosa's doing."

"Yeah!" The blonde cheered as she returned her partner and went to the Pokémon center where the others were waiting.

"Ash, Bianca! It's great seeing you again! Even if it's only been a week." She hugged her two friends as they approached her.

"I know right?! I miss having all my friends around so soon!" Bianca responded.

"Me too. So, I assume you captured one of the sages and he was taken away by Detective Looker?"

"Yes! Strange man. Anyway, I found him along with a couple of knights by his side, and I easily beat them, and tracked him down. He said to me that life is full of joy, and suffering. That it's vital. Even when he suffered he was alive. He's currently thinking about what will continue make him living now that Ghetsis abandoned him."

"It seems like the sages have had their eyes opened, and have lost faith in the means of obtaining their goal. I'll call Cheren and see if he's caught his end." Contacting the last of the four, Ash asked his friend, "Cheren, have you captured the sage near you?"

"No, just a knight. He does say he want to meet you though, in person.

"Really then? Why so?"

"Because he wants to tell you something and only you. The knight says he's in Chargestone Cave."

"I'll be there."

"Before I go, there's something I wish to say to you." Cheren mentioned quickly before he was hung up.

"Yes?" Bianca and Rosa leaned in close.

"Strength and strength alone is what matters in this world. So I believed, until I met Alder. But, winning in Pokémon battles isn't all there is to life. Once I learned that, my eyes were opened to many different things. We all have our own band of strength, people and Pokémon both. The strength to make our dreams a reality, the strength to protect what we hold most dear…" He paused a few seconds, looking off into space. Why do I think this way now? It's thanks to you, Ash. And Bianca, Alder, Rosa...if only N could see this, too, someday."

"Cheren, N has grown on you, has he?" Ash asked interested.

"Yes. He is quite the unique person. I'm going to take a long, hard look on myself on my road to victory. I'm going to think about what I can do and who I can become. I'll be waiting for you when we're both done. We'll have a battle in the Pokémon League to see who is the strongest."

"You bet." Ash accepted, a grin of confidence appearing on his face. Cheren smiled as well before hanging up.

"He's really come a long way, has he?" Rosa asked the raven haired trainer.

"Yeah. We may not always have seen eye to eye, but he's one of my best friends. Knowing that his outlook on life has changed, I believe he'll make it far."

"That's so great to hear. Why don't you go and find that remaining sage now. I don't want to hold you up." Rosa tried persuading them, but Bianca hugged her.

"And miss out on hanging out with you?! No way! Let's spend at least an hour at the amusement park! Please Ash, please?!" Bianca pleaded with her sweet adorable eyes. He couldn't resist for long.

"Okay okay, but one hour." Ash relented with a smile. So they hung out and did all that they could, and even talked to Elesa briefly. But soon, they had to depart with Rosa remaining in Nimbasa for a little more, needing to wrap things up first. Flying over the drawbridge and Driftveil City, they were soon at the cave and trekked through. Near the end of the tunnel, Zinolin appeared, turning from around the corner.

"So, you finally found me. I must admit, you're an odd Trainer."

"What is it that you wanted to say?" Ash questioned.

"When you were in Castelia, I did not care about your existence. Here in the Chargestone Cave, N tested your ability...and lost. I won't repeat his mistake, for I understand you now. The Pokémon of our Team Plasma are also fighting for their Trainers. It was so obvious that I overlooked it... Thank you for reminding me of that."

"I don't need your thanks. Knowing that you see what the relationship between trainer and Pokémon is all the satisfaction that I need."

"Is that so? Pokémon do their best for their Trainers even when they are injured. I wonder whether my lord N understands what that means?" After saying that, Looker came into the scene.

"On the topic of Team Plasma... I am an officer of the International Police, so you would be wise to share all you know." Bronius nodded.

"Those who left Team Plasma and are behaving with respect and understanding toward Pokémon... Them, please forgive! However, those who won't interact with Pokémon in a kind and honest way... Even I will never forgive them!" He exclaimed, not wishing those who held pure beliefs in their hearts to be wrongly punished.

"Many thanks! Now, Ghetsis notwithstanding, there yet remains but one of the Seven Sages still at large. What is it they are thinking, what it may be they are hoping, this is the information I have need of. Until we meet again!" He and the sage left.

"Just one more, then we can focus on relaxing again." Ash spoke to himself. Bianca hugged his arm.

"Let's do it." She said, determined to end this with her boyfriend. He grinned.

"Yes." It took a couple of days of flying, but they eventually found the last sage. In the late of night at Dragonspiral Tower, they made their way to the top where N has acquired Reshiram, and came across the last free sage.

"Greetings to you, Ash and Bianca. He greeted, no sign of malevolence on his face. "Are you and Zekrom building an understanding? Are you friends?"

"Yes. The past week, Zekrom and I have been talking, and what I'm going to do far into the future with my ideals."

"That's good. There is a saying... If somewhere in this world there is someone who understands you, it feels like that person is right beside you, even if you're as far apart as the end of the land and the top of the sky. As my lord N and his Pokémon understand one another, so, too, do you and your Pokémon understand one another. Along with friends and family along the way." Bianca hugged Ash's arm hearing that. "The legend of Unova is about Pokémon and people working together to build a new world! The message is that simple and that strong. If changing the world makes you a hero, anyone can become a hero. As each of us changes what is in our power to change, so the world itself changes." Looker came around as well.

"Regarding Team Plasma... I am an officer of the International Police, and you must satisfy request for certain information!"

"Indeed, I shall. Team Plasma changed me, but it could not change the world. I'm looking forward to seeing how you lot will do."

"Thank you a lot Ash and Bianca! Your contribution has helped my investigation a lot! Now if only we had Ghetsis and N."

"Do you know where N is?" Ash asked curiously.

"Unfortunately, there is no news of his whereabouts. But one day, we will meet again if he is sighted. Farewell!" Looker left them alone.

"Alright Ash, we found all of the six remaining sages!" Bianca cheered, hugging her boyfriend. He laughed and hugged her too.

"Yeah, now we can go home and continue training!" He recuperated with glee.

"I love you Ash."

"I love you too." They then kissed with strong compassion. Going down the tower, and heading back to Icirrus City, Ash received a ring from his Xtransceiver. Answering it, Professor Juniper in her pajamas and a sleep mask greeted them.

"Hi there!"

"Professor Juniper? What are you calling us so late for?" Ash inquired.

"Alder reached out to me. He says he wants to meet you at Celestic Tower."

"Alder himself?! Talk about good luck! We're right next to it since we're in Icirrus City!" Bianca remarked.

"Thank goodness, than that means it won't be too much trouble trying to reach him. Well, goodnight when you get your sleep kids!"

"Goodnight." Both of them replied before signing off. "I wonder what Alder wants with us." The blonde female wondered.

"Let's go see then." Ash replied. It didn't take very long as they made it to the nearby tower in about five minutes, meeting a sitting Alder on the top of the tower.

"Champion Alder, you wanted to see us?" Ash asked.

"Hi Alder!" Bianca greeted, but the champion shushed her.

"Quiet now. The spirits are sleeping." He recommended, patting the floor as he sat on it. "My old partner is resting here in the Celestial Tower. He was the first Pokémon I received when I became a Trainer. I come here to ring the bell and comfort his spirit. He was a strong Pokémon. He was courageous, noble, and kind...together, we madly pursued strength...without even knowing the meaning of strength. But, in the same way that all stories have a beginning and an end, all lives have an end, as well...it was then that I understood that strength isn't something that remains unchanged forever. However, the joy one feels in being with Pokémon-that is the real thing. In order to spread the word, I left the Pokémon League and kept traveling." He then stood up, his solemn expression changing to that of vigor. "That's right! Traveling is wonderful. I've met many different Pokémon, many different Trainers, and now I've met all of you. There are many more Trainers and Pokémon to encounter in the world! Ash, Bianca, go out and meet as many of them as you can!"

"Yes sir!" They replied at the same time. Walking past them, he stopped to say one last thing.

"You two, and your friends...I'll be waiting for you at the Pokémon League!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now, something that I considered is whether or not I wanted to include the Pokémon Movie: Kyurem vs Keldeo, but closer inspection made me realize that it would've brought upon too many inconsistencies, like whether or not Kyurem should be able to transform or not, where the Sacred Swords should be, Kyurem being so strong that not even Pokémon League level opponents could touch it since it was so powerful in the movie, it's too tough to call with these many factors and that the movie is a 'take it or leave it' kind of thing. Alright, next we're doing the Pokémon League! Let's see who will be the one to take on the Elite Four and Alder because even I don't know if Ash will win this or not and either Bianca or Cheren will win it instead. Not sure about Rosa though. She's powerful but somewhat frail. Nonetheless, their Pokémon teams are just so good. Leave a review down below on what you think. Thank you.

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: And there you have it everybody! Now's there's a few things in here I'd like to address. 1. I gave Delia a minccino just for the sake of Ash shooting Team Plasma down! Talk about satisfying. 2. In this story, I wanted to write Bianca as a high autistic person, maybe Asperger's if that's what you recognize. I looked at a website written by someone with Aspergers on how to accurately write them, and I myself am autistic so I figured, "Why not make Bianca a main character with a disability, and yet still be as awesome as she is in the game." It would also better justify her dad being overprotective since my parents overprotected me as well, though not to an unreasonable degree. 3. I'm thinking of making Emboar a pure fire type than a fire/fighting type. I mean, if the other two starters don't get to be dual types, than why should Emboar be the lone exception? 4. This will have more romance when Team Plasma isn't concerned so be ready for that. So, tell me what you think: Team Plasma, Bianca, Emboar being pure fire, the romance...I'm interested to hear your response.


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